Introductory overview

The Department of Medicinal Chemistry is one of the nine scientific departments that provide and supervise the courses of the Faculty of Pharmacy’s undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as scientific research in the areas of discovery, design, and synthesis of drugs by standard and in silico methods, in addition to applying and developing analytical methods for measuring drugs in their raw and pharmaceutical dosage forms, as well as in biological fluids.

Medicinal chemistry courses in undergraduate programs are a unique component of the programs of modern pharmacy education, as it ties links between chemistry, structural biology, pharmacology, and molecular biology.

Medicinal chemistry courses are applied courses that are developing day by day, as there are a number of new pharmaceutical compounds that are approved and introduced into medical practice every year, and others can be withdrawn from the market for a variety of reasons. 

Medicinal chemistry courses provide pharmacy students with a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of drug action, the relationships of drug structure to therapeutic efficacy, basic, acidic, physical, and chemical properties of drugs, pharmacokinetics, and features of the interaction between the molecular structures of drugs with their target receptors.

Faculty members of the medicinal chemistry department at the Faculty of Pharmacy Mansoura University are doing their best to prepare and explain the appropriate scientific material according to the latest scientific references, as well as new knowledge related to medicine, especially with regard to the pandemic COVID-19 since its beginning at the end of 2019 until now. Moreover, they use different teaching strategies that are compatible with the scientific content of different theoretical and practical aspects of courses materials, in addition to the application and development of self-learning among students to develop their lifelong learning skills.

A thorough understanding of the chemical basis of a pharmacological action provides pharmacy students with the ability to rationally, answer 'why' and 'how' questions related to the therapeutic efficacy of drugs.

Through their medicinal chemistry courses, pharmacy students acquire vital knowledge and critical thinking skills and distinguish themselves upon graduation as drug chemistry experts among healthcare professionals.

The department of medicinal Chemistry participates actively in the graduate programs of studies of the faculty, including, the drug design diploma, master and Ph.D. programs in medicinal chemistry. The research topics of scientific theses registered in the department, as well as the research interest of faculty members, are concerned with the discovery, design, and synthesis of chemical compounds on scientific bases and the study of their potential effects on various diseases affecting humans and animals. Furthermore, the use of computer software for molecular modeling and other in silico studies pave and give virtual evidence that helps in understanding drug pharmacokinetics and how drug molecules interact with target receptors. On the other hand, research on the methods of analyzing different drugs in their raw form and in pharmaceutical doses as well as in biological fluids represents another important aspect of the department's research interests.

It is noteworthy mentioning that the Magnetic Resonance Unit installed at the faculty of pharmacy is the fruitful outcome of a scientific and practical effort by the faculty staff of the department. A successful fund was obtained from one of the major funding bodies in Egypt, namely, the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF). The unit provides great scientific services to researchers inside and outside Egypt.