Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Question 1

What are drugs?

Answer 1

Substances that alter the biochemical processes in the
body

Question 2

What drugs are used in medicine?

Answer 2

Drugs that have beneficial effects

Question 3

What does a medicine usually contain?

Answer 3

The drug plus other ingredients such as
fillers to add bulk or sweeteners to improve the taste

Question 4

How do drugs work?

Answer 4

Drugs generally work by binding to specific protein molecules. These protein molecules can be found on the surface of a cell (receptor) or can be specific enzyme molecules within a cell.

Question 5

What is an agonist?

Answer 5

Mimics the natural compound and binds to the
receptor molecules to produce a response similar to the natural active compound

Question 6

What is an antagonist?

Answer 6

Prevents the natural compound from binding to the
receptor and so blocks the natural response from occurring

Question 7

What are drugs that act on enzymes classified as and how do they work?

Answer 7

Enzyme inhibitors and they act by binding to the active site of the enzyme and blocking the reaction normally catalysed there

Question 8

Why is the overall shape and size of a drug the way it is?

Answer 8

So that it interacts with a receptor binding site or to the active site of an enzyme

Question 9

What is the structural fragment of a drug?

Answer 9

The part that allows it to form interactions with a receptor binding site or to an enzyme active site, it normally consists of different functional groups correctly orientated with respect to each other