Module: Advanced Medicinal Chemistry

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Advanced Medicinal Chemistry
Module Code	CHM1040 (ITS: CS414)
Faculty	Chemical Sciences	School	Science & Health
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Students will be introduced to the concepts of drug design and development including the use of computational modelling. Concepts related to both drug delivery, pro-drugs and hybrid drug molecules are also described. Advanced topics relating to modern drug development will also be covered with emphasis on drug design, solid-form development, clinical trials and final marketing using specific drug examples from the last 15 years.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the principles of radiopharaceutical design and MRI contrast agents
2. Understand the principles of nucleic acid drugs and antisense therapeutics
3. Prodrug design and applications
4. Introduction to drug delivery
5. Drug design including fragment approaches, QSAR and 3D QSAR with specific examples.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Lectures
Directed learning	101	Independent study and learning
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	10269	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Andrew Kellett	Module Teacher	Kieran Nolan

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Formal Examination	End-of-Semester Final Examination	100%	End-of-Semester

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Pharmaceutical solid form development
Polymorphism, salts, hydrates, co-crystals; Solid-form risk assessment, solid-form properties regulation of solid forms (ICH 6 & 9); Experimental and computational screening for solid forms, case studies.

Computational chemistry in drug development
Key computational approaches for modelling molecules (ab initio, force fields etc.); conformational analysis of APIs; basic principles of docking.

Radiopharmaceuticals and contrast agents
Metal complexes in disease diagnostics, radiopharmaceuticals, magnetic resonance imaging, SPECT, PET, tracer design

Nucleic acid drugs
Antisense therapeutics, gene editing, nucleic acid chemistry, hybrid nucleic acid drugs, nucleic acid chemistry

Indicative Reading List

Books:

0: As directed in course, 297227
2017: Developing Solid Oral Dosage Forms, E-book, Part I, Chapters 1-4, Elsevier, 9780128024478, 297228
2017: An introduction to medicinal chemistry, 6th, Oxford University Press, 9780198749691,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None