Overview of key biological areas and technologies relevant to medicinal chemists.
Biology of the major drug target classes:
Structure, function and relative target tractability.
Key biological tools of the trade/interpretation of the data they generate:
- in vitro compound potency and selectivity: bioassay formats and design, enzyme inhibition, receptor binding modulation, low-throughput screening, high-throughput screening/bioassay automation, micro/nano-bioassays, bioassay in cell culture, virtual screening.
- biostructural (X-ray) analysis of the compound-target protein complex.
- Global Technologies: genomics, structural genomics, proteomics, chemogeomics
- Methods for in vitro ADMET assays: P450 inhibition, metabolic stability, protein binding, permeability, cytotoxicity assays, hERG assay.
Animal models of disease.
- selected key animal models, their application and value.
Biological data handling.
- methods for quality assessment and interpretation.