OVERVIEW

Drugs Metabolism is the study that deals with the structural modification reactions that occur on a drug after its administration in the human body. These reactions can be classified into phase I and phase II and can be studied both in vivo and in vitro. This course also studies all the enzymes that catalyze phase I and phase II reactions, the factors that affect these reactions and the pharmacological and toxicological aspects arising from such biotransformation reactions.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides the students with the basic concepts of the metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics. Besides describing the main Phase 1 and 2 reactions involved, the course deal with the latest in vivo and in vitro technologies used to study drug metabolism, as well as the main enzymatic systems responsible for these biotransformations.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The purpose of the course is to provide Biotechnologies students the necessary knowledge to evaluate the metabolic fate of a drug after its administration in the human body.

To carry out this assessment, it is necessary to know the types of phase I and phase II reactions, the enzymes specifically involved in these reactions, the techniques to study metabolism in vitro and in vivo and the factors that affect drugs metabolism.

At the end of the course, the student will have to:

• describe the phase I metabolic reactions that occur on drugs endowed with aromatic ring

• describe the metabolic reactions of oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis that can occur on the main functional groups present in the structure of a drug

• describe the phase II metabolic reactions that can occur on the main functional groups present in the structure of a drug

• describe the latest techniques currently used to study drug metabolism in vitro and in vivo

• predict, from a qualitative and quantitative point of view, the type of metabolic reaction that will occur in  the body where the drug was administered

• evaluate the toxicity of intermediate or final metabolites obtained from the metabolism of a drug.

PREREQUISITES

To better understand the topics covered in this course, the biotechnologies student should have passed the organic chemistry exam.

TEACHING METHODS

Theoretical lessons are aimed at simplifying the comprehension of the topics treated. In this context the teacher will use educational powerpoint presentations and, if necessary, he will have the opportunity to deepen those parts of the topic that may prove more difficult for the students to understand. Before starting a new lesson, to facilitate students to learn several connected sections, a brief summing up of the previous lesson will be carried out. 

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. Nicola Girtler, Nicola.Girtler@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

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The program of this course consists of the following sections:

• Historical notes

• Phase I and phase II metabolic reactions

• Current technologies for in vivo and in vitro studies

• Factors that can affect the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics

• Study of the main enzymes involved in phase I and phase II metabolic reactions

• Toxicological aspects arising from the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics

• Various examples of phase I and phase II metabolic reactions that can occur on known drugs.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The teacher does not recommend any particular reference text as he himself took care of composing the course paragraphs by assembling a series of concepts and topics derived from updated texts and scientific publications of international renown in the field of drugs metabolism. The slides of the course program paragraphs, used by the teacher during the lessons, are available in pdf format on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes generally start around the first days of March, with a weekly commitment of 4 hours divided into 2 lessons lasting 2 hours each.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is written and will take place at the end of each lesson. The student must respond concisely, using appropriate technical terminology, to 5 questions related to the just-concluded lesson. The final mark will be obtained from the mathematical average of the marks recorded in each written test.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Since this course consists of various paragraphs that describe the chemical reactions that the human body employs to modify the chemical structure of administered drugs, the enzymes involved in these chemical reactions, the factors that affect these metabolic reactions and the pharmacological and toxicological aspects arising from these reactions, in the written exam the ability to clearly report the answers to the test questions in a correct manner and using the appropriate specialized terminology, will be assessed.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Ask the professor for other information not included in the teaching schedule.