During spring 2005, a new approach was taken to teach General Chemistry II by focusing on biomedical applications.  Over 25% of chemists in this country are employed by the pharmaceutical industry; half of all government research funding in chemistry now comes from the National Institutes of Health.  Feedback from our students in graduate schools continues to emphasize the importance of teaching relevant biochemistry to undergraduates.  The intent was to teach key concepts in chemistry by focusing on biomedical/pharmaceutical applications.  The concepts needed to understand these ideas were then covered; in fact the “need to know” represented the basis for selecting what topics to teach and to emphasize.

With all of the recent headlines concerning COX-2 inhibitors, the initial plan was to teach the molecular basis for the design of these drugs, the reasons for their development, and the anti-inflammatory mechanism of action for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s).  To understand this, students needed a background in a number of fundamental areas.  Eight lessons (four weeks) were devoted at the beginning of the semester to develop a sufficient background for students to be able to understand the two subsequent lessons (1 week) spent examining COX-2 inhibitors.

Inflammation is an indication in many disease states; to keep the anti-inflammatory theme going, the course then focused briefly on steroids and their mechanism of action. This required reviewing Central Dogma, discussing complex ions and zinc fingers, and reinforcing important principles of noncovalent interactions.

The course then shifted its focus to nerve synapses and cell electrochemistry; several lessons were devoted to examining thermodynamics and electrochemistry.  This provided the necessary foundation to understand the chemical biophysics of how nerves work, the sodium/potassium pump mechanism, and oxidative phosphorylation.  Essentially, thermodynamic and electrochemistry concepts were taught in order to understand their biochemical and neurochemical applications.

Neurotransmitters and neurotransmitter receptors are key targets of many if not most pharmaceutical therapeutics.  As a result, a number of lessons were spent examining various neurotransmitters and their respective mechanisms of action in order to develop a basic medicinal chemistry literacy among students.  The expansion of pharmaceutical marketing efforts in modern times has created an awareness of terms that students bring with them.  Nearly all have heard of MAO inhibitors, but they have no technical appreciation of what they are nor of how they work (the same can be said about steroids).  These neurochemistry and medicinal chemistry concepts are accessible using the principles discussed in General Chemistry and some basic ones were covered in the course.  Several lessons were spent on neurotransmitters and pain prevention mechanisms; these provided several fascinating and very relevant topics to discuss.  A lesson was also spent on adrenaline receptors. Neuroscience was a major emphasis and represents an emerging science at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and psychology.

The focus on neuroscience provided a good lead into environmental health issues since students had just learned about medications to treat asthma and how they worked. Environmental issues examined included ozone generation at ground level (that causes many asthma episodes each summer) and ozone depletion in the stratosphere.  This was followed by energy production and Second Law related concepts since most air pollution problems are a direct result of energy production.

The key challenge in teaching a course with this approach was the lack of text material to use; students had to rely primarily on lecture notes or on course handouts. Textbooks also present information in a “linear” order of topics as opposed to the “integrated” manner in which the course was taught this semester. There is a need for a web-based set of course material with inter-related links that would be a much more effective way to present this information.

The major emphasis during this first iteration focused upon what topics to teach.  The chosen framework worked exceptionally well in term of continuity and modern relevance and represented a significant improvement over the modern applications approach used for several years during the mid-1990's and reported earlier.