Chemistry
for non-chemists
In February 2008 (Tuesday 19 - Wednesday 20) the SCI Young Chemists' Panel will hold the fourth of its successful 'Chemistry for non-chemists' courses at the Days Hotel in Nottingham.
 To chemists, chemistry is the underpinning science discipline they meet on a daily basis. However, to many of their scientific colleagues, this is not necessarily the case. Are you a pharmacist, a biologist or perhaps a process engineer who has regular dealings with chemists? Do you sit through meetings wondering what chemists are talking about? Do you want to have a better grasp of the subjects discussed to aid your overall contribution and appreciation of a project? Alternatively, perhaps you are a chemist who is aware of colleagues who may benefit from a firmer footing in important chemistry foundations.
The SCI’s Young Chemists’ Panel offers a solution for the non-chemist via the ‘Chemistry for non-chemists 2008’ course; a two day residential training event. Two excellent young organic chemists, Dr Chris Frost of the University of Bath and Dr Joe Harrity of the University of Sheffield, have tailored this event for non-chemistry specialists. The outlook is relatively informal, with an emphasis on clearly communicating the key aspects encountered in medicinal chemistry.
The course is structured through six lecture-style presentations, which are then backed-up by six small group tutorial sessions. These sessions give attendees the chance to work together to improve their comprehension of the topics being discussed. Topics are covered ‘from the ground up’, dealing with important basic topics from chemical bonding, right up to the more medicinally-focussed topics of chemical acidity and solubility. Specifically, the course will cover the following topics:
1. Atoms, electrons and bonds – a discussion of what matter consists of and how it comes together to form bonds and molecules.
2. Electron movement, aromaticity and functional groups – drug molecules feature a number of ‘common threads’ called aromatic rings and functional groups. This session comprises a discussion of these important molecular building blocks.
3. Shape and isomerism – a discussion of the relevance of the three-dimensional shape of organic molecules to their observed properties.
4. Stereochemistry – a more involved discussion of the important physiological and physical properties that are imparted to a drug by its three-dimensional shape. What do we need to know in order to describe and understand these stereochemical properties?
5. Acidity and pKa – discusses how we quantify the acidity of a molecule is and what makes it so.
6. Lipophilicity – some molecules have a better affinity to the physiological environment of water than others. The issues of how we can understand lipophilicity, how we describe this property and the consequences for drug molecules are discussed.
Using a case study of the blockbuster drug Cimetidine, Dr Frost and Dr Harrity will place in context all of the issues and material covered at this event.
This course will offer an ideal foundation for non-chemists to achieve a greater understanding of the basic workings and issues faced by the medicinal chemist. Armed with the knowledge garnered from this two-day course, participants will be able to better understand what may arise in their projects and how to interpret these concerns from the viewpoint of their own discipline.
SCI Young Chemists’ Panel
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