A Textbook of Medicinal Chemistry

By Marilyn Dunlap, Barbara Frances Westerhaus
296
2026

Description

A Textbook of Medicinal Chemistry draws together contributions from authoritative practitioners to provide a comprehensive overview of the field as well as insight into the latest trends and research. An ideal companion for students in medicinal chemistry, drug discovery and drug development, while also communicating core principles, the book places the discipline within the context of the burgeoning platform of new modalities now available to drug discovery. The book also highlights the role chemistry has to play in wider target validation and translational technologies. This is a carefully curated compilation of writing from global experts using their broad experience of medicinal chemistry, project leadership and drug discovery and development from an industry, academic and charity perspective to provide unparalleled insight into the field.

About Author

Marilyn Dunlap is Professor Emerita of Chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University, where she specialized in synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. Her research, done primarily with undergraduates and M.S. students, was focused on design and synthesis of bioactive peptidomimetics. She holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Wyoming and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career as a Senior Research Scientist at Hoffmann-La Roche, in drug discovery. After moving to academia, she was a Lecturer at Vanderbilt University before moving to Middle Tennessee State University. After receiving her undergraduate Chemistry degree (Cornell University) and Ph.D. degree (University of Pennsylvania, Chemistry). Dr. Barbara Frances Westerhaus began her career as a medicinal chemist in the pharmaceutical industry (Hoffmann-La Roche & Wyeth Research), and contributed to drug discovery efforts for HIV, cancer, asthma, and CNS disorders with increasing levels of responsibility. In 2004, she joined academia. She was a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Pharmacy, and until August 2023, when she was appointed Professor of Practice in the Chemistry Department at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS), recipient of the ACS Philadelphia Local Section Award, Philip S. Portoghese Lectureship, and Garvan-Olin Medal, and was inducted into the ACS Medicinal Chemistry Division Hall of Fame. She has held a number of elected positions at national levels of the ACS and the AAAS, and in the Organic and Medicinal Chemistry Technical Divisions. She is co-author of the textbook Medicinal Chemistry (CRC Press), and served as an Associate Editor of ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters from 2014- 2023. In 2019, she co-founded Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC), and continues to serve on the organizing committee.

Table of Content

Preface
1. DRUGS: ACTION AND DISCOVERY

1.1. Introduction
1.2. What are Drugs and Why Do We Need New Ones?
1.3. Drug Discovery and Design: A Historical Outline
1.4. Leads and Analogues
1.5. Sources of Leads and Drugs
1.6. Methods and Routes of Administration: The Pharmaceutical Phase
1.7. Introduction To Drug Action
1.8. Classification of Drugs

2. DRUG STRUCTURE AND SOLUBILITY
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Importance of Solubility
2.3. Techniques For Solubility Enhancement
2.4. Particle Size Reduction
2.5. Solid Dispersion
2.6. Nanosuspension
2.7. Supercritical Fluid (SCF) Process
2.8. Cryogenic Techniques
2.9. Inclusion Complex Formation-Based Techniques
2.10. Micellar Solubilization
2.11. Hydrotrophy
2.12. Crystal Engineering

3. ACTIVITY AND QUANTITATIVE STRUCTURE RELATIONSHIPS
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Structure–Activity Relationship (SAR)
3.3. Changing Size and Shape
3.4. Introduction of New Substituents
3.5. Changing The Existing Substituents of A Lead
3.6. Case Study: A Sar Investigation to Discover Potent Geminal Bisphosphonates
3.7. Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship (QSAR)

4. COMPUTER-AIDED DRUG DESIGN
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Materials
4.3. Methods

5. COMBINATORIAL CHEMISTRY
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Computational Chemistry For Combinatorial Library Design
5.3. Generation of Combinatorial Libraries
5.4. Screening of Combinatorial Libraries
5.5. Encoding and Decoding of Combinatorial Libraries
5.6. Conclusion and Perspectives

6. DRUGS FROM NATURAL SOURCES
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Bioassays
6.3. Dereplication
6.4. Structural Analysis of The Isolated Substance
6.5. Active Compound Development
6.6. Extraction Procedures
6.7. Fractionation Method

7. BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES
7.1. Structure and Organization of Membranes
7.2. Membrane Proteins
7.3. Interactions Between Lipids and Proteins In Biological Membranes
7.4. Sending Messages Across Membranes
7.5. Membranes In Health and Disease
7.6. Closing Remarks

8. RECEPTORS AND MESSENGERS
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Cellular Level
8.3. Development
8.4. Organ Systems Involved
8.5. Pathophysiology
8.6. Clinical Significance

9. ENZYMES
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Classification and Nomenclature
9.3. Active Sites and Catalytic Action
9.4. Regulation of Enzyme Activity
9.5. The Specific Nature of Enzyme Action
9.6. The Mechanisms of Enzyme Action
9.7. The General Physical Factors Affecting Enzyme Action
9.8. Enzyme Kinetics
9.9. Enzyme Inhibitors
9.10. Transition State Inhibitors
9.11. Enzymes and Drug Design: Some General Considerations
9.12. Examples of Drugs Used As Enzyme Inhibitors

10. NUCLEIC ACIDS
10.1. Introduction
10.2. The Use of Oligonucleotides In Therapy and Diagnostics and The Mechanisms Behind Them
10.3. Artificial Nucleic Acids
10.4. Oligonucleotide Drugs
10.5. Defibrotide
10.6. Conclusions and Perspectives

11. PHARMACOKINETICS & PHARMACODYNAMICS
11.1. Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics Introduction
11.2. Pharmacokinetics
11.3. Absorption
11.4. Distribution
11.5. Metabolism
11.6. Excretion
11.7. Pharmacodynamics
11.8. Types of Medications
11.9. Efficacy, Dose-Response, Onset, Peak, and Duration

Bibliography
Index