| Subject
Area |
Medicinal chemistry, drug discovery. |
| Age
or Grade |
11th to 12th grade students |
| Estimated
Length |
Three to four class periods |
| Prerequisite
knowledge/skills |
How lethal dosage is calculated, and some organic structure knowledge would be helpful. |
| Description
of New Content |
This lesson will immerse the students into how drugs are discoverey and the numerous changes and steps a potential drug may go through before it hits the shelves. |
| Goals |
Show advanced understanding of organic chemistry and how it effects our lives. |
| Materials
Needed |
Internet access |
|
Procedure
|
Opener - Introduce the students to the arduous procedure of how a chemical can become a drug. Start with one example and give a very detailed view of the processes both politically and chemically that drugs must go through to meet FDA approval. Development - Assign the students the individual project to research a drug, and write a five page paper on the chemical changes that occured with this new drug in order to be developed. Closure - Have the students make the connection between the changes that drugs undergo, and the changes that occur in our bodies as a result. |
| Evaluation |
Five page research paper |
| Extensions |
Could lead to further lessons |