Pharmaceutical Chemistry Flashcards
7 cards from real FPGEE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Pharmaceutical Chemistry flashcards as text
Hydrolytic degradation of aspirin in aqueous solution produces:
Answer: Salicylic acid and acetic acid
The ester bond in aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is hydrolyzed to yield salicylic acid and acetic acid in aqueous conditions.
In drug-receptor binding, the term 'affinity' refers to:
Answer: The strength of the drug-receptor interaction
Affinity describes how strongly a drug binds to its receptor, often expressed as the dissociation constant (Kd).
What is the primary purpose of determining the pKa of a drug molecule?
Answer: To predict ionization state at physiological pH affecting absorption and distribution
pKa determines the degree of drug ionization at any given pH, which critically influences membrane permeability, absorption, distribution, and renal excretion.
Which structural feature makes beta-lactam antibiotics susceptible to bacterial resistance via beta-lactamase enzymes?
Answer: The strained four-membered lactam ring
Beta-lactamase enzymes hydrolyze the strained beta-lactam ring, which is essential for antibacterial activity, rendering the antibiotic inactive.
The concept of 'hard acid-hard base' and 'soft acid-soft base' interactions (HSAB theory) in medicinal chemistry is most relevant to:
Answer: Understanding metal-ligand interactions in metal-based drugs
HSAB theory explains the selectivity of metal-based drugs (e.g., cisplatin) for particular biological ligands like DNA nitrogen atoms versus sulfur-containing proteins.
Racemization of a chiral drug during storage is a significant concern because:
Answer: It may alter the ratio of active to inactive (or toxic) enantiomers
If enantiomers have different activity or toxicity profiles, racemization changes the effective dose of the active isomer and may increase adverse effects.
Thalidomide's teratogenicity is primarily associated with which pharmacological concept?
Answer: Stereoisomer toxicity — the S-enantiomer causes birth defects
The S-(-)-enantiomer of thalidomide is teratogenic while the R-(+)-enantiomer has sedative activity; however, interconversion between enantiomers occurs in vivo.