The Experimental Pharmacology module aims to describe the main experimental methods, conducted both in vitro and in vivo, to investigate the mechanism of action, metabolism, efficacy, and toxicity of a newly formulated or commercially available drug.
By the end of the course, students will be familiar with various computational methodologies and experimental pharmacology techniques applied in drug discovery and in preclinical studies, respectively.
Knowledge of basic notions of pharmaceutical chemistry, biochemistry, organic chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, animal biology.
The course is organized in frontal lessons. The topics will be illustrated by the teachers through Powerpoint presentations that are shared on the module TEAM.
Any Student with documented Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or with any special needs, shall reach out to the Lecturer(s) and to the dedicated SLD Representative in the Department ( Prof. Luca Raiteri, Luca.Raiteri@unige.it ) before class begins, in order to liaise and arrange the specific learning methods and ensure proper achievement of the learning aims and outcomes. VERY IMPORTANT: any request for compensatory tools and adaptations in the exam MUST be done within 10 working days before the date of the exam according to the instructions that can be found at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/comunicazioni
Experimental Pharmacology: experimental approaches for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of drug actions (experimental design, in-vitro and in-vivo techniques); use of immortalized cell lines and primary cultures; animal models: selection of the most appropriate animal model to be used and examples of in-vivo preclinical experimentation; microscopy and immunohistochemical techniques; flow cytometry techniques; spectrophotometric analyses for protein quantification, studies of enzymatic activity, glucose uptake studies, and calcium studies; description and application of experimental models for the study of synaptic functionality (study of neurotransmitter release, analysis of receptor and transporter expression levels); western blot and protein quantification; experimental techniques to study neurotransmitter release (High Performance Liquid Chromatography, HPLC); study of gene expression through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR); DNA analysis through gel electrophoresis; cell viability assays; interpretation and analysis of the experimental results.
The official text of the experimental pharmacology consists of the didactic material prepared and distributed during the course, as well as the scientific literature which will be suitably provided for each topic.
Ricevimento: Any working day by appointment (tel. 010-3532656; e-mail: carola.torazza@unige.it), in presence or using the most common online platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet).
The timetable for this course can be found at: EasyAcademy Portal, second semester
Contact the teacher for further information not included in the teaching sheet
