Categories: Medicinal Chemistry >> Molecular Modelling

The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action

Description

Standard medicinal chemistry courses and texts are organized by classes of drugs with an emphasis on descriptions of their biological and pharmacological effects. This book represents a new approach based on physical organic chemical principles and reaction mechanisms that rationalize drug action and allow the reader to extrapolate to many related classes of drug molecules. The Second Edition reflects the significant changes in the drug industry over the past decade, and now includes color illustrations, chapter problems, and other elements that make concepts easier to understand.

Editorial Review

"The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action" is a comprehensive monograph that is suitable for both advanced students and PhDs alike who have not yet become acquainted with the area, but who wish to prepare themselves for a career in drug research.

What stands out in comparison with other books discussed here is that the subjects are generally addressed in detail, and each theoretical point is illustrated with examples of specific drugs. A great deal of knowledge is reflected in the structures presented. Key learnings as to which drug properties are obtained through specific, individual modifications are presented, based upon examples with detailed rationale. Collectively, these represent an immense body of knowledge that is built up from empirical data. The author provides an extensive discussion of drug candidate optimization without the aid of molecular modeling, wherein the approaches presented are logically based and thus quite accessible to the reader. "The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action" offers valuable and in-depth suggestions concerning many facets of drug discovery.

Moreover, this volume is worthwhile reading for the several detailed chapters of historical interest that it contains, although this material is still placed in context with the biochemical principles underlying the structures presented. Even the chapter on "DNA-Interactive Agents" is remarkably useful, although the reader may be excused for not committing all of the examples to memory.

The recommendation for those with an interest in medicinal chemistry is to obtain an introductory textbook, and by all means to acquire "The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action" as the advanced text. Even if Silverman’s book foregoes any vivid treatment of molecular modeling or the involvement of many biochemical principles, readers will gain a deeper understanding from the concrete examples and excellent commentaries provided.

Contents

Drug Discovery, Design, and Development
Receptors
Enzymes (Catalytic Receptors)
Enzyme Inhibition and Inactivation
DNA-Interactive Agents
Drug Metabolism
Prodrugs and Drug Delivery Systems