PharmaChemistry in the Classroom: A Drug-Discovery Experiment for the High School Chemistry or Biotechnology Classroom

• Autores: Emily Garcia Sega, Jewyl Clarke
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 90, Nº 12, 2013, págs. 1658-1661
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In this laboratory experiment, students were exposed to a real-world approach to science through learning about and simulating the processes by which drugs are designed and discovered. The students first synthesized oil of wintergreen from aspirin and analyzed the physical properties of both the starting material (aspirin) and product (oil of wintergreen) to validate that their reaction was successful. Second, unique to this lab experiment, students further scrutinized the synthesis by performing a biological assay investigating the antibacterial properties of their samples. Through the use of these analyses, students were able to play the roles of chemists, biologists, and team members involved in the drug-discovery pipeline. The results revealed to the students that small changes in molecular structure caused significant changes in medicinal activity. Through data analysis, discussion, and problem sets, students evaluated various steps of the experiment as they simulated the drug-discovery process.