As a cross-cutting and comprehensive subject, medicinal chemistry involves the knowledge of chemical, biological, medical, and pharmaceutical sciences. A comprehensive medicinal chemistry experience for undergraduates is expected to train various experimental skills and enhance their scientific research ability. Herein, a series of laboratory and…

An integrated lab-lecture project, known as the mini research project, was developed for a medicinal chemistry course for nonscience majors. In the lecture component of this project, students choose a plant essential oil with documented biological activity and prepare a literature review describing the importance, history, and current use of the…

Reports of the results of research within the emerging field of biochemistry education are appearing at an ever-increasing rate. Capturing an image of the landscape of Biochemistry Education Research (BCER) is complicated, however, by the interdisciplinary nature of biochemistry courses that may be taught at different levels and in different…

Rational drug design requires expertise in structural biology, medicinal chemistry, physiology, and related fields. In teaching structure-based drug design, it is important to develop an understanding of the need for early recognition of molecules with "drug-like" properties as a key component. That is, it is not merely sufficient to teach…

A second-year organic chemistry laboratory experiment to introduce students to general concepts of medicinal chemistry is described. Within a single three-hour time window, students experience the synthesis of a biologically active small molecule and the assaying of its biological toxicity. Benzodiazepine rings are commonly found in antidepressant…

Synthetic biology is the application of engineering and mathematical principles to develop novel biological devices and circuits. What separates synthetic biology from traditional molecular biology is the development of standardized interchangeable DNA "parts," just as advances in engineering in the nineteenth century brought about standardized…

An interdisciplinary course called "The Chemistry of Poisons" was created, featuring organic chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and toxicology content. This exploratory chemistry elective course was created by an instructor with a background in synthetic organic chemistry and a teaching assistant with a background in pharmacy practice.…

The Medicinal Plants of the Southwest summer workshop is an inquiry-based learning approach to increase interest and skills in biomedical research. Working in teams, Hispanic and Native American students discover the chemical and biological basis for the medicinal activity of regional plants used by healers. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Newly discovered biogenic organo halogens with an emphasis on the biologically active examples from marine organisms, bacteria, terrestrial plants and higher life forms, including humans, are focused. Organohalogen compounds represent a valuable and expanding class of natural products, in many cases boasting exceptional biological activity.