BB551: Toxicology
Study Board Pharmacy
Teaching language: Danish or English depending on the teacher
EKA: N560029112, N560029102
Assessment: Second examiner: None, Second examiner: External
Grading: Pass/Fail, 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Spring
Level: Bachelor
STADS ID (UVA): N560029101
ECTS value: 10
Date of Approval: 31-10-2022
Duration: 1 semester
Version: Archive
Entry requirements
Pharmacy students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and BB524; Toxicology B, can´t enroll in this course.
Students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and/or BB524; Toxicology B as an elective course, can´t take this course as an elective course.
Students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and/or BB524; Toxicology B as an elective course, can´t take this course as an elective course.
Academic preconditions
tudents taking the course are expected to:
- Have knowledge of fundamental chemistry, molecular biology, and biochemistry
- Be able to use basic laboratory equipment and perform simple calculations involving concentration and dilution
Common academic competences:
- Be able to work in a team
- Have experience doing literature research, oral presentation and basic laboratory skills
- Have knowledge of laboratory safety
Course introduction
The aim of the course is to introduce fundamental toxicological terms, and their associated biochemical and physiological relations. Planning and execution of toxicological experiments is the focus of the laboratory course at the end of the semester.
These fundamentals are important for understanding the mechanisms of adverse drug reactions and toxicological interactions categorised as food-drug, drug-drug or drug-environment. This knowledge is necessary for pharmacists working at pharmacies, but also for pharmacists, biomedical students and biologists looking to work within the pharmaceutical industry or environmental management.
In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
- Give the competence to perform and analyse basic experiments within the field of toxicology
- Give the competence to be part of a scientific research group with its’ own goals and plans.
- Give skills in comprehension of primary literature
- Give knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of toxicity in humans
- Give knowledge about the use of model organisms for research in human toxicity, including the use of vertebrates as test animals and the challenges presented within this research.
For pharmacists and biologists, this course provides the scientific background needed to study Mechanistic Toxicology (FA807) and Molecular Toxicology (BB802), as well as general preparation for thesis work within the field of toxicology/ecotoxicology.
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- Analyse toxicokinetic data
- Describe the central organs and mechanisms involved in metabolism of xenobiotics, including environmental pollutants and pharmaceuticals in humans
- Present and communicate scientific research in a reasonable and manageable way
- Describe the effects of xenobiotics on endocrine systems
- Explain the molecular mechanisms behind the toxicity of certain groups of chemicals
- Perform and report on quantitative, biochemical laboratory experiments
Content
The following main topics are contained in the course:
- Toxicology/ecotoxicology
- Biology/biochemistry
- Physiology
The overarching themes of the course are:
- Cellular processes involved in toxic effects
- Organ specific toxic effects
- Toxicity mediated through nuclear receptors
- The effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in humans and other vertebrates
- The molecular mechanisms of metal- and nano particle toxicity, as well as natural toxins found in mushrooms and plants.
- Sources of interspecies differences in toxicological response
- The effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Literature
Pharmaceutical Toxicology by Mulder og Dencker
See itslearning for syllabus lists and additional literature references.
Examination regulations
Prerequisites for participating in the exam a)
Timing
Spring
Tests
Participation in laboratory exercises
EKA
N560029112
Assessment
Second examiner: None
Grading
Pass/Fail
Identification
Full name and SDU username
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Examination aids
To be announced during the course.
ECTS value
0
Additional information
Active participation in all laboratory exercises, including handing in assignments such as preparation for exercises and oral presentation of results from laboratory exercises.
The prerequisite examination is a prerequisite for participation in exam element a)
Exam element a)
Timing
June
Prerequisites
| Type | Prerequisite name | Prerequisite course |
|---|---|---|
| Examination part | Prerequisites for participating in the exam a) | N560029101, BB551: Toxicology |
Tests
Written exam
EKA
N560029102
Assessment
Second examiner: External
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Duration
4 hours
Examination aids
The exam is without aids. However, standard build in calculator in Windows/MAC are allowed. It is also allowed to use Maple, Mathematica, Mathcad, MathLab, GeoGebra Apps, R, R-Studio, CAS TI-Nspire, Ms Excel or LibreOffice Calc. WordMat is allowed but not recommended. Use of WordMat is at your own risk and no support is provided for errors caused by the program. For drawing it is also allowed to use ChemBioDraw. Furthermore, it is also allowed to use language translation dictionaries (e.g. Danish/English, Danish/German, Danish/French and Danish/Spanish etc) in "ordbogsprogrammet" (the dictionary programme) from http://www.ordbogen.com/ in electronic form. The browser version is not allowed. All dictionaries other than language translation dictionaries (e.g. chemical dictionary, clinical dictionary, etc.) must be switched off in “ordbogsprogrammet”(the dictionary programme).
Internet is not allowed during the exam.
ECTS value
10
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
- Intro phase: 32 hours
- Skills training phase: 48 hours, hereof tutorials: 12 hours and laboratory exercises: 36 hours
The lectures will be based upon the curriculum in the book, as well as pimary+secondary literature available through Blackboard. Every subject is presented with a focus on what can be found in the curriculum, as well as the background for this information. For example, in the lecture about hepatotoxins, the anatomy and physiology of the liver is presented as background knowledge. A basic understanding of organ systems is necessary to study the toxic effects of model compounds on the human body. Teaching will consist of introductory lectures on the academic subjects of the course, followed by seminars of group work and dialogue-based teaching, allowing for a deeper understanding of the subjects. The study phase therefore consists of the following activities:
- Answering of weekly assignments in order to discuss these in the exercise sections.
- Preparations for the laboratory work
- Self study of various parts of the course material.
- Reflection upon the intro and training sections.
This course follows the principles of teaching for active learning, so lectures will therefore contain certain interactive elements e.g. group work, discussions, presentations and digital tools.
For the laboratory course, students are asked to perform risk assessment of their experiments. The students must prepare for every experiment, before undertaking it in the laboratory. This is part of the prerequisite to take the exam, and time has been dedicated to this in the course schedule.
The final scheduled block of laboratory work is dedicated to oral presentation of results from the work in the lab, which will be closely related to the theory presented during the course.
Teacher responsible
Additional teachers
Timetable
Administrative Unit
Team at Educational Law & Registration
Offered in
Recommended course of study
| Profile | Education | Semester | Offer period |
|---|---|---|---|
| BSc major in Pharmacy - Registration 1 September 2019 | Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Pharmacy | Odense | 6 | E22 |
| BSc major in Pharmacy - Registration 1 September 2020, 2021 and 2022 | Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Pharmacy | Odense | 6 | E22 |
Transition rules
Transitional arrangements describe how a course replaces another course when changes are made to the course of study.
If a transitional arrangement has been made for a course, it will be stated in the list.
See transitional arrangements for all courses at the Faculty of Science.