The History and Value of Medicinal Chemistry

“The great advances of medicinal chemistry have been achieved by two types of investigators: those who with the genius of prophetic logic, who have opened a new field by interpreting correctly a few well-placed experiments, whether they pertained to the design or the mechanism of action of drugs; and those who have varied patiently the chemical structures of physiologically active compounds until a useful drug could be evolved as a tool in the medicine.” So said Austrian born Alfred Burger, a pioneer in the field of medicinal chemistry and expert in organic chemistry. Burger's entire life was devoted to the study of chemicals and their medicinal properties (2). Medicinal chemistry is the field of chemistry that designs, develops, and synthesizes pharmaceutical drugs. As a science, chemistry really exploded in the 19th century, and part of this expansion was the creation of the field of organic chemistry, which would eventually lead to medicinal chemistry (3). The practice of medicinal chemistry existed before there were modern drugs or people even knew what chemistry was.

In 3500 B.C., Sumerians reported the use of opium. In 3000 B.C., the Chinese were using ma huang (ephedra). In Greece, Hippocrates modeled the Aristotle’s instruction with an emphasis on the soul. Galen patterned the teachings of Plato with an emphasis on experimentation (6). He believed that the whole could be explained by an examination of its piece parts. During the Renaissance period, doctors were humanists and modeled their approach from Hippocrates; treat the soul and the body will heal. In the beginning, there was no connection to alchemy (6). Then Paracelsus (1493-1541) adopted the Galen’s focus on experimentation, and started a medical mo...

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...y is then done to see how the zinc complex would hold up in very acidic pH levels. These results showed that the zinc complex could, in fact, withstand low pHs. After a PASS study to test the biological activity and clinical trials to test the effectiveness of this new drug, the study concluded that the zinc-aceclofenac complex is a good alternative to aceclofenac because the anti-inflammatory activity is retained while the gastrointestinal ulceration in reduced (1).

Closely linked with biological sciences, medicinal chemistry is very important in helping treat the conditions that plague humans. Medicinal chemistry is not just another subset of organic chemistry; its outputs are used everyday, by thousands of people. It saves lives and serves to make them healthier. Without it, we would not be able to perform surgeries, deal with allergies, or treat diseases.