KE837: Hands-on approach to early-stage drug discovery

Study Board of Science

Teaching language: English
EKA: N540048112, N540048102
Assessment: Second examiner: None, Second examiner: Internal
Grading: Pass/Fail, 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Spring
Level: Master

STADS ID (UVA): N540048101
ECTS value: 10

Date of Approval: 12-10-2022


Duration: 1 semester

Version: Approved - active

Comment

The course has been preapproved as a PhD course.

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree in Chemistry, Pharmacy, Biomedicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or similar

Academic preconditions

Academic preconditions. Students taking the course are expected to:

  • have passed a course in fundamental chemistry or similar.
  • have passed a course in analytical chemistry (recommended).
  • be able to plan work independently and therefore the students must possess some academic maturity.

Course introduction

This course is mainly an experimental course where the overall aim of the course is to go through:

  • The chemistry and bioactivity of bioactive natural products (BNPs) including distribution in plants, fungi and marine organisms, chemical properties, structure-activity relationship, pharmacophores, and mechanisms of action.
  • The isolation, identification, and quantification of BNPs from biological material using chromatographic, spectrometric, and spectroscopic techniques.
  • In silico methods and bioassays for the evaluation of the bioactivity and mode of action of BNPs.
The course builds on the knowledge acquired in the courses KE501, KE505, KE546, KE550, KE504, KE530, and BMB504, and gives an academic basis for studying the topics chemistry, bioactivity, isolation, and structure elucidation of BNPs, which are part of the degree. 

In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
Give the competence to:
  • Communicate and critically evaluate the content of scientific papers within the course topics.
  • Account for selected types of in silico methods and bioassays and evaluate their applicability.
  • Evaluate the properties of BNPs and their structure-activity-relationships as well as effects and potential mechanisms of action in biological systems.
  • Evaluate a chosen isolation and characterization strategy of BNPs from biological material.
  • Work as part of a team on a a PBL project and communicate the results.
Give skills to:
  • Classify selected natural products based on their chemical structure.
  • Identify possible pharmacophores of BNPs and evaluate their bioactivity and their structure-activity relationships and potential mechanisms of action in biological systems.
  • Construct an experimental strategy for extraction, isolation, and characterization of BNPs from biological material using spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques, computational chemistry, and bioassays.
  • In silico investigation of the bioactivity of BNPs.

Provide knowledge about:

  • Structural diversity of BNPs and their pharmacophores.
  • Extraction techniques as well as chromatographic techniques including flash chromatography, analytical and semi-preparative HPLC.
  • Spectroscopic techniques for structure elucidation of BNPs such as NMR, UV, IR, and MS.
  • In silico methods.
  • Bioassays: in vitro and in vivo models to measure bioactivity of BNPs.

Expected learning outcome

The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:

  • Classify selected natural products based on their chemical structure. 
  • Identify possible pharmacophores of BNPs and evaluate the properties of BNPs and their structure-activity relationships and potential mechanisms of action in biological systems. 
  • Design an experimental strategy for extraction, isolation, and characterization of BNPs from biological material using spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques, computational chemistry, and bioassays. 
  • Carry out in silico investigation of the bioactivity of BNPs. 
  • Evaluate a chosen isolation and characterization strategy for BNPs from biological material. 
  • Communicate and critically evaluate the content of scientific papers within the course topics and the experimental work.

Content

The following main topics are contained in the course:

  • Introduction to natural products chemistry and BNPs.
  • The role of BNPs in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry.
  • In silico methods in drug discovery.
  • From BNPs to pharmaceuticals.
  • Bioassays for BNPs, 2D and 3D cell culture models.
  • Design and execute an experimental strategy for extraction, isolation, and characterization of BNPs from biological material.

Literature

See itslearning for syllabus lists and additional literature references.

Examination regulations

Prerequisites for participating in the exam a)

Timing

Spring

Tests

Participating in lab work and writing a laboratory report

EKA

N540048112

Assessment

Second examiner: None

Grading

Pass/Fail

Identification

Full name and SDU username

Language

English

Examination aids

To be announced during the course.

ECTS value

0

Additional information

Participating in lab work and contribute to writing a report on the experimental work. The report will be a group report.
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) N540048101, KE837: Hands-on approach to early-stage drug discovery

Tests

Report and individual oral exam based on the report.

EKA

N540048102

Assessment

Second examiner: Internal

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Student Identification Card

Language

English

Examination aids

To be announced during the course

ECTS value

10

Indicative number of lessons

98 hours per semester

Teaching Method

At the faculty of science, teaching is organized after the three-phase model ie. intro, training and study phase.
  • Intro phase: 16 hours (8 x 2)
  • Training phase: 82 hours, hereof laboratory classes: 82 hours
The teaching method is based on a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach and students are working in groups of 3-4 on a specific project in the lab.  
Activities during the study phase: Project on the isolation of potential BNPs from a specific biological material

Teacher responsible

Name E-mail Department
Lars Porskjær Christensen lpc@sdu.dk Institut for Fysik, Kemi og Farmaci

Additional teachers

Name E-mail Department City
Adelina Rogowska-Wrzesinska adelinar@bmb.sdu.dk Institut for Biokemi og Molekylær Biologi
Carsten Uhd Nielsen cun@sdu.dk Institut for Fysik, Kemi og Farmaci
Jacob Kongsted kongsted@sdu.dk Institut for Fysik, Kemi og Farmaci
Stefan Vogel snv@sdu.dk Institut for Fysik, Kemi og Farmaci
Vasanthanathan Poongavanam nathan@sdu.dk

Timetable

Administrative Unit

Fysik, kemi og Farmaci

Team at Educational Law & Registration

NAT

Offered in

Odense

Recommended course of study

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.