Lecture

Interrogating Drugs' Mode of Action

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In course

CH-313: Chemical biology

Chemical Biology is an interdisciplinary field using chemical principles and techniques to analyse and manipulate biological systems. It relies on small-molecule chemicals to gain an in-depth understanding of biology, and provides new tools and products ra ...

Description

This lecture explores the different modes of action of drugs, focusing on enzyme inhibition, reversible and irreversible binding, and covalent drugs. It covers topics such as transition-state analogs, drug activity evaluation, and examples of covalent drugs. The instructor discusses experimental methods to evaluate drug reversibility and the impact of slow on/off inhibitors. Additionally, the lecture delves into the concept of irreversible inactivation and the efficacy of reversible and irreversible inhibitors. Various examples of covalent drugs throughout history are presented, highlighting their mechanisms and significance in medicine.

Instructors (2)

Rudolf Hovius

Expertise Â•Protein structure, expression & purificationÂ•Molecular interaction & receptor activationÂ•Fluorescence imaging & spectroscopySignalling & sensing Mission => Teaching: Lecture courses, tutorials and practicals in biochemistry, biophysical chemistry of membranes and signalling processes. Participating to the Commission d'Enseignement and Commission de l'Ecole Doctorale of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.=> Research interests: Protein function and structure, Membrane protein (especially recepto

Yimon Aye

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Health sciences

Pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics

Related concepts (32)

Drug

A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption via a patch on the skin, suppository, or dissolution under the tongue. In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect.

Drug interaction

Drug interactions occur when a drug's mechanism of action is affected by the concomitant administration of substances such as foods, beverages, or other drugs. The cause is often inhibition of, or less effective action, of the specific receptors available to the drug. This influences drug molecules to bind to secondary targets, which may result in an array of unwanted side-effects. The term selectivity describes a drug’s ability to target a single receptor, rendering a predictable physiological response.

Prohibition of drugs

The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the manufacture, distribution, marketing, sale, and use of certain drugs, for instance through a prescription system. For example, amphetamines may be legal to possess if a doctor has prescribed them; otherwise, possession or sale of the drug is typically a criminal offense.

Mechanism of action

In pharmacology, the term mechanism of action (MOA) refers to the specific biochemical interaction through which a drug substance produces its pharmacological effect. A mechanism of action usually includes mention of the specific molecular targets to which the drug binds, such as an enzyme or receptor. Receptor sites have specific affinities for drugs based on the chemical structure of the drug, as well as the specific action that occurs there.

Drug class

A drug class is a group of medications and other compounds that have similar chemical structures, the same mechanism of action (i.e. binding to the same biological target), similar modes of action, and/or are used to treat the similar diseases. In several dominant drug classification systems, these four types of classifications form a hierarchy. For example, the fibrates are a chemical class of drugs (amphipathic carboxylic acids) that share the same mechanism of action (PPAR agonist) and mode of action (reducing blood triglycerides), and that are used to prevent and treat the same disease (atherosclerosis).

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