Mock exam Qs - WIP Flashcards
Describe the difference between biological and small molecule drugs
Biologics - biotechnology products, have a complex structure, are sensitive to heat/enzymatic degradation/pH, degrades quicker, shows poor absorption, very high specificity, cannot be taken orally, must use aseptic techniques to produce
Small molecule drugs - are chemically synthesised, have a known structure, are less sensitive to the environment, longer half-life, show good absorption, specificity is variable, more stable so can be taken orally
Provide an overview of the ethics of personalised medicine and how they can influence drug development *
Privacy - need to collect more data on sensitive information/health records/genomics. Individualised therapy also requires extensive data collection on the patients lifestyle and environmental factors. unnecessarily broad authorised access to health records is common, ending up in the hands of third parties. All identifiable patient data must be protected even after death
Genetic discrimination - may become common in employment and insurance
physician-patient relationships may be affected
What is the test cross and what does it do?
A method to determine the zygosity (if both copies have the same sequence, hetero- or homozygous) of an individual for a dominant trait by crossing it with a recessive one
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages on the use of bacteriocins as an alternative to antimicrobials and how it could be used in the future *
Bacteriocins are very heterogenous bactericidal peptides ribosomally synthesised by bacteria and archaea. They are naturally produced to fight competition
Bacteriocins are specific to strains of bacteria and resistant to heat and UV light, but are expensive to produce at scale and susceptible to proteolysis (breakdown). They have high efficacy with nano-molecular size
They are used in agriculture and the food industry, and there is potential application for antiviral agents
Using an example, describe how a biologic can be formulated to improve stability and delivery to a target site *
Kinetic stability can be increased by introducing hydrophobic mutations, disulphide bonds, salt bridges and metal ions at the protein surface to stabilise and rigidify regions involved in local unfolding
Addition of sugars or salts to a protein solution can prevent aggregation, as these solutes are thought to be preferentially excluded from the surface of the protein, therefore favouring a compact state
Polymers, amino acids and non-ionic surfactants are also used to decrease aggregation
Discuss why some tissues and/or organs might be more suitable for regenerative therapy than others *
Some tissues naturally regenerate well (e.g. skin, bone marrow), making them more amenable to therapies
Simpler structures are easier to regenerate, level 1 and 2, as well as those with only partial function (skin, cartilage) as opposed to complex functions (heart, pancreas)
Organs that are well-vascularised can be better integrated with new tissues
Depending upon the cell types, there are different patterns of genetic inheritance. Describe these patterns and explain the specifications of each one. Give examples of each pattern in your answer
Autosomal dominant inheritance - when the dominant allele is located on one of the 22 pairs of autosomes
Autosomal recessive inheritance - heterozygous individuals do not display the disorder (carriers), but homozygous recessive will. e.g. cystic fibrosis
X-linked dominant or recessive
Incomplete dominance - heterozygous phenotype intermediate between dominant and recessive trait. e.g. red and white flowered snapdragons crossed to produce pink
Codominance - equal, distinct and simultaneous expression of both alleles, e.g. AB blood type, shows co-dominant IA and IB alleles
what is personalised medicine?
A form of medicine that uses information about a person’s own genes or proteins to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease
