Caution
Copyright © Monash University 1996
ISBN 1037-0919
Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
A course of 40 lectures, 16 tutorials and 39 hours of practical work
The aim of the course is to provide students with a detailed knowledge and understanding of certain aspects of the physical, chemical and biological sciences which relate to the formulation of drugs and their distribution in the body.
+ understanding of the weights, measures and calculations used in pharmacy practice; the principles of drug administration; the principles of dosage form design; the formulation of liquid pharmaceutical products; the factors influencing drug stability; the containers used for pharmaceutical products;
+ abilities in the areas of performing pharmaceutical calculations; the preparation of certain pharmaceutical dose forms;
+ an appreciation of the need for accuracy and thoroughness in manufacture of pharmaceutical products; the factors which influence the design of pharmaceutical dose forms.
Principles of drug administration. Effects of varying biological factors, children's dose rules, the doses and uses of some common drugs. The role of the pharmacist in dealing with inappropriate dosages.
Dose forms. The oral, rectal, parenteral and topical routes of drug administration. Bulk powders, individual powders, capsules, pills, tablets, ointments, creams, emulsions, solutions, suspensions, drops (eye, ear and nose), suppositories and pessaries.
Isotonic solutions. Osmotic injury of tissues, freezing point depression and osmotic pressure, osmotic calculations. The Wells Approximate Liso values. The limitations of physico-chemical methods of adjusting isotonicities, the haemolytic method of Husa, the haematocrit method of Setnikar and Telmelcou.
Milliequivalents, millimoles and milliosmoles. The electrolytes of normal serum, electrolyte solutions for intravenous use, notation in prescriptions, calculations.
Introduction to biopharmaceutics. Rate limiting steps, the importance of the dose form.
Solution formulation. Principles of formulation; pharmaceutical solvents; solutes, mechanisms of solution, concentration. Factors effecting solubility, including temperature, pH, complexation, solubilisation and cosolvency. Pharmaceutical colouring, flavouring and preserving agents.
Dissolution. Factors affecting dissolution rate, theory of dissolution, Noyes-Whitney equation, Hixson-Crowell; in vitro/in vivo correlation.
Buffering in pharmaceuticals. Chemical and biological buffer systems; physiological aspects of buffering and drug solubility, stability and action, formulation of pharmaceutical buffers.
Solution dose forms. Oral solutions, parenteral solutions, ophthalmic and nasal solutions.
Filtration. Factors affecting filtration rate, mechanisms of filtration, procedures, types of filters, filter aids.
Stability of pharmaceuticals. Forms of instability; modes of chemical degradation, hydrolysis, oxidation, photolysis, dehydration, racemisation; prevention of degradation, use of antioxidants; modes of physical degradation; shelf-life, stability testing.
Pharmaceutical containers. Glass, plastics, metals; interactions between product and packaging; influence of packaging on product stability.
Rheology. Shear stress, strain and strain rate. Newtonian, plastic, pseudoplastic and dilatant flow. Thixotropy.
Surface properties. Surface energy and surface tension. Wetting and capillarity. Surfactants, micellisation, solubilisation and detergency. Insoluble films.
Liquid-in-liquid systems. Theories of emulsification; emulsion type; HLB; emulsion stability; formulation and applications.
Practical classes are designed to provide experience in the preparation of pharmaceutical dose forms to reinforce the principles covered in the lecture course
+ Progress examination (May) (1.5 hours): 10%
+ Practical work: 10%
+ End-of-year examination (2.5 hours): 80%
84 lectures, 32 tutorials and 75 hours practical work
The major aim of the first year of the course is to provide the background in physical and organic chemistry necessary to understand the clinical/medicinal chemistry covered in later years, as well as to provide essential background for pharmaceutics and pharmacology.
+ understanding of key concepts in chemical structure and bonding; pi bonds; the basic laws underlying the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum; the molecular basis for different properties of the gas, liquid and solid states; the basis for and application of phase diagrams; factors important in solution behaviour; the principles of ionic equilibria pharmacy; the basic theory of electrochemistry; the key concepts associated with explaining rates of chemical reactions; the basic principles of thermodynamics; the principles of metal-ligand complex formation; the structures and physicochemical properties of key classes of organic compounds;
+ abilities in the areas of measurement and recording of data relevant to the understanding of drug structure and reactivity; performing numerical calculations relevant to pharmacy, based on experimental or theoretical data;
+ an appreciation of the role of molecular shapes and electronic distributions as the basis for drug-receptor interactions; the importance of physicochemical properties of drugs in determining drug activity.
Chemical bonding. Quantum theory, atomic orbitals, hybridisation. Covalent bonds, valence bond and molecular orbital theories. Polar molecules, intermolecular bonds, molecular association. Relative strengths of bonds.
Ionic equilibria in solution. Dissociation, solubility product, stablity constant, ionic product for water. The pH scale, solutions of weak acids and bases, indicators, amphoteric electrolytes, isoelectric point, ion exchange resins. Determination of pKa, relationship between pKa and pKb for a conjugate acid/base pair. Buffer solutions, buffer capacity, buffers in blood. The relationship between the pH of a solution, the pKa of an acidic or basic drug, its ionisation state and its absorption.
Spectroscopy. Energy level diagrams, chromophores and auxochromes. Ultraviolet, visible and spectroscopy. Introduction to qualitative infrared spectroscopy. Beer's law and pharmaceutical analysis. Photochemical reactions of drugs, photosensitive degradations, sunscreens, photochemotherapy.
States of matter. Gases. Graham's and Fick's laws of diffusion. Dalton's law of partial pressures. Deviation from ideal gas behaviour, van der Waals' equation. Liquids. Liquefaction of gases, vapour pressure of liquids, latent heat of vaporisation, the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.
Phase equilibria. One-component systems. Solid, liquid and vapour equilibria, the water diagram, Gibbs phase rule. Polymorphism, properties of polymorphs. Two-component systems. Solid solutions, eutectic mixtures. Miscibility of liquid mixtures, the phenol-water system. Partition between immiscible solvents. Chromatography. Three-component systems. The miscibility of toluene, ethanol and water, triangular diagrams.
Solutions. Gases in liquids. Vapour pressure and solubility. Liquids in liquids. Vapour pressure of liquid mixtures, ideal behaviour, Raoult's law. Deviation from ideal behaviour, azeotropes. Colligative properties of solutions. Osmotic pressure, the van't Hoff coefficient, isotonicity.
Bioinorganic chemistry. Formation, stability and nomenclature of complex ions. Chelation and organometallic complexes in biological systems. Ionic equilibria in solution.
Thermodynamics. Heat and work, conservation of energy, internal energy, enthalpy, heat capacity. Thermochemistry, bond energies, resonance energy.
Reaction kinetics. Reaction rate, order and molecularity. Rate equations for zero, first and second order reactions. Reaction mechanisms, collision theory, transition states, drug stability.
Electrochemistry. Galvanic cells, Nernst equation, oxygen electrode, cell potentials and free energy, pKa, solubility product and equilibrium constant. Electrochemistry and biological cell potentials, pharmaceutical analysis.
Structure and properties of organic molecules. Bonding, isomerism, stereochemistry and nomenclature of carbon compounds. An introduction to the use of spectroscopic methods in structure determination and identification of organic compounds.
Reactions of organic molecules. The chemistry of selected classes of organic compounds, viz. aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and their halogen derivatives, alcohols and phenols, aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amides, acid chlorides, amines and other nitrogenous compounds, thiols and other sulphur-containing molecules. Polyfunctional molecules such as amino acids and amino alcohols. Elementary electronic theory and reaction mechanisms. Throughout the course special reference will be made to compounds of biological, medicinal and pharmaceutical importance.
Introduction to medicinal chemistry. Influence of such factors as shape, size, ionisation state, solubility and substituent groups on the biological action of selected drug classes.
Practical classes are designed to provide experience of the principles presented in the lecture course. Students are required to wear safety glasses and laboratory coats in the laboratory.
+ Progress examination (May) (1.5 hours): 10%
+ Practical work and other tests: 20%
+ End-of-year examination (two 2-hour papers): 70%
88 lectures, 12 tutorials and 75 hours of practical work
The major aim of the subject is to provide students with a knowledge of mammalian physiology as a basis for understanding how physiological processes are altered by disease states or affected by drugs. This knowledge is mandatory for understanding pharmacology and pathology taught in later years.
+ understanding of basic cellular anatomy and biochemistry, and how these processes are utilised in cells with specialised functions; cellular reproduction and genetics; chromosomal abnormalities leading to genetically based human diseases; properties of cell membranes including transport of substances into and out of cells and the transmission of electrical impulses along nerve cells; structure and function of smooth, skeletal and cardiac muscle; chemical transmission between nerve cells and from nerve cells to effectors (glands or muscle); the physiology of sense organs, blood and other body fluids, the liver and body systems;
+ abilities in the areas of the observation and measurement of physiological processes; the assessment and integration of physiological information;
+ an appreciation of the integrated functioning of physiological systems; the pathophysiological changes arising from defects in normal physiological functions; the potential sites of action and mechanisms by which therapeutic agents can affect normal and abnormal physiological function.
Cellular structure. General structure and functioning of cells, cytoplasm, lysosomes, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, ribosomes, centrosomes, nucleus. Functional and structural specialisation in cells.
Cellular reproduction and genetics. Genetics, Mendel's work, laws of independent segregation and random assortment of allelic pairs. Chromosome replication and division, mitosis and meiosis. Linkage and crossing over, chromosome maps. Sex determination and x (sex) linkage. Multigenic and non-Mendelian inheritance. Mutations and chromosomal abnormalities. Genetic variability. Pharmacogenetics. Genetically-based human diseases. Genetic counselling.
Synaptic transmission. Origin and transmission of nerve impulse. The generator potential. Axo-dendritic, axo-somatic and axo-axonal synapses. Excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic potentials, presynaptic inhibition. Neuronal pools. Neuroeffector junctions. Humoral transmission. Facilitation and blockade. Characterisation of transmitters. The autonomic nervous system, an introduction.
Properties of muscle. Physiology of skeletal muscle, contractile and elastic components, isotonic and isometric contractions, twitch and tetanus. Ultra-structure of muscle and sliding filament theory. Focally and multiply-innervated fibres. Structure and properties of cardiac muscle and its conducting system. Electrical activity of cardiac muscle membranes, the ECG. Smooth muscle, structure, location and function. Multi-unit and single-unit muscle. Vascular smooth muscle. Electrical activity of smooth muscle membranes.
Calcium. Sources, functions and control mechanisms in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle.
Endocrine function. Introduction to the hormonal system, functions of hormones, their release and their role in homeostasis.
Skeleton and skeletal muscle. General structures and function. Joints. Movement.
Circulation. Basic mammalian circulatory system. Heart. Vasculature. Cardiovascular mechanics and control of circulation.
Respiration. Structure and function of the respiratory system. Gaseous exchange and transport. Respiratory pigments. Control of respiration. Effects of change of environment.
Feeding, digestion and absorption. The gastrointestinal tract, its development, function, hormonal and nervous control. Absorption.
Liver. Structure and functions; storage, synthesis, metabolism and excretion, the biliary system.
Excretion. General patterns and organs involved. Structure and function of the vertebrate kidney.
Temperature regulation. Poikilotherms, heterotherms and homiotherms. Control mechanisms, temperature receptors, sweat glands, vascular changes.
Special senses. Structure and function of organs concerned in sight, hearing and balance. Chemoreception.
Reproduction and early embryological development. Asexual and sexual reproduction. Oestrus and menstrual cycles and their hormonal control. Fertilisation, implantation and initial developmental stages. Embryology. Teratology. Formation and physiology of the placenta. Pregnancy, parturition, lactation. Contraception, infertility.
Blood and body fluids. Plasma, formed elements. Anaemias. Clotting mechanism and anticoagulants. The fibrinolytic system. Cerebro-spinal fluid. Extra-cellular fluid and lymph.
Practical classes are designed to provide experience in the logical approach and skills required to gain physiological information by observation and experimentation. Students must provide themselves with dissecting instruments.
+ Progress examination (May) (1.5 hours): 10%
+ Practical work and ongoing assessment: 20%
+ End-of-year examination (3 hours): 70%
50 lectures, 17 tutorials and 23 hours of practical work
The subject aims to provide students with the necessary calculus and statistical techniques for the subjects of the pharmacy degree and prepare future graduates for the increasing use of computers in the profession.
+ understanding of the principal components of hardware and software involved in operating a computer; the use of time-sharing computers and stand-alone PCs; the basic methods of differentiation and integration and their application to maxima and minima problems, rate equations and chemical kinetics; logarithmic scale and triangular graph papers; solution of simple ordinary differential equations; the principles of partial differentiation with an emphasis on application to thermodynamics and diffusion theory; the presentation of statistical data; probability distributions, the concept of a sampling distribution and application to the derivation of confidence intervals; making statistically based decisions using hypotheses testing; the theory of regression and correlation;
+ abilities in the areas of computer use; problem solving; logical, orderly thought and accuracy in working; program development and testing; application of mathematical models using calculus in the areas of physical chemistry, physical pharmacy and biopharmaceutics; selecting the appropriate statistical method to calculate a confidence interval or test a hypothesis;
+ an appreciation of the use of computers to store, manipulate and retrieve information; the application of calculus to physical and biological processes; the interpretation of simple clinical results using a range of statistical tests.
Microcomputers. IBM and standards in the computing industry. DOS and other operating systems. Booting up and re-booting. Disks - capacity and industry standards, formatting options. Connecting, configuring and using a printer. Software installation.
Multi-user computers and networks. Login and security, quotas and limits. Printouts and print queues. Timeshare commands.
Computers in general. Memory - real and virtual. Running applications. Directories, files and file types. Creating and maintaining subdirectories. Creating, editing, copying and deleting files. Wildcards.
Applications of computers. Flowcharts as an aid to problem solving. Variables. Arithmetic operations. Control of the order of computer operations. Logic with computers. Repetition, iteration and loops. Obtaining and processing data in programs. Testing and validation of computer output.
Tutorial classes will be run in conjunction with the coursework and will provide opportunities to practise, understand and use the information presented. A series of exercises will develop keyboard skills, and interactive teach-yourself programs are available for many aspects of the work. Students will be required to write and run programs to solve simple problems.
Logarithmic plots. Exponential and logarithmic functions, semi-logarithmic and logarithmic plots.
Integration methods. By parts, algebraic substitution and partial fractions.
First-order rate processes. Definition, different physical processes obeying the law (eg radioactive decay, chemical reaction, microbiological growth, elementary pharmacokinetics), half-life and semi-logarithmic plots.
Zero, second and third-order reaction. The rate equations, their solutions and half-life.
Triangular charts. Graphical representation of three component systems.
Partial differentiation. Functions of several variables, first and second partial derivatives, geometric interpretation.
Integration. Definite integrals, area under a curve, infinite limits, approximate integration methods (trapezoidal rule).
Differential equations. Solution of ordinary differential equations by separation of variables and integrating factor methods. Partial differential equations, the unsteady state diffusion equations. Fick's Law of Diffusion.
Measures of central tendency and dispersion. Mode, median, arithmetic and geometric mean. Skew of a distribution. Standard deviation, variance and degrees of freedom.
Probability distributions. General properties, the binomial, Poisson and normal distribution. Normal probability graph paper. The log normal distribution and log probability graph paper. Normal approximation to the binomial distribution, distribution of proportions.
Sampling. Random sampling, the Central Limit Theorem, calculation of sample size to attain a required accuracy.
Estimation. Point and interval estimates, Student's t-distribution. Confidence intervals for the mean and for the difference of two means (independent populations). The pairing of samples, confidence intervals for paired data. Confidence intervals for the difference of two proportions (independent populations). Confidence intervals for the variance, the chi-square distribution.
Hypothesis testing. Testing using confidence intervals. The H0 and H1 hypothesis, type 1 and 2 errors, one-sided and two-sided testing, p values, operating, characteristic curves.
Fitting a line. Least squares fit using partial differential calculus to develop the normal equations.
Regression theory. The mathematical model, residual variance, confidence intervals for slope, intercept and predicted Y value.
Correlation. Linear correlation coefficient.
Contingency tables. Test for independence testing several proportions, the chi-square distribution.
+ Progress examination (May) (1.5 hours): 10%
+ Computer studies tutorial work: 10%
+ End-of-year examination (2 hours): 80%
38 lectures, 8 hours of tutorials and 36 hours of practical work
Since a large amount of time spent by a pharmacist is in one-to-one communication with patients, doctors and other members of the health profession, the students will be taught the rudiments of oral and written communication skills and will learn aspects of human behaviour so as best to undertake the counselling of patients when dispensing medicines. This segment of the subject forms part of a motivational and educational component to the student for the studentship period at the end of first year. It also serves as a prerequisite for the second-year subject in pharmacy practice which will cover counselling, social pharmacy and illness behaviour in depth. It should also be remembered by the student that the ideals of modern day pharmacy practice as enunciated during these early lectures and practicals in `Pharmacy practice I' must be carried over into other areas of the course and into the subsequent years of the pharmacy course and the traineeship year. The major aims of this subject are to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of the legal, ethical, behavioural and scientific requirements for the dispensing of medicines. This, in turn, is closely aassociated with `Pharmaceutics I'. The subject is also designed to instil in students an ability to express concern, compassion and sensitivity in patient care through an understanding of human behaviour.
+ understanding of the ethics and professional roles of pharmacists and the historical background to the pharmacy profession; the role of pharmacists as primary health-care providers; the delivery of pharmacy services as part of the health-care team; the types of employment for pharmacists; the pharmacist-patient relationship and the pharmacist-physician relationship; the legal and professional requirements of a prescription and its recording and processing; sources of information on drugs and drug products and how to obtain such information; appropriate pharmacy-oriented human behaviour, including abnormal behaviour; the pharmacy of a range of commonly used drugs;
+ abilities in the areas of oral and written communication; the dispensing of medicines to individual patients with due regard for the legal, therapeutic and professional requirements; the recording of prescriptions and patient details; the importance of accuracy and an eye for detail in the dispensing of medicines;
+ an appreciation of the relationships existing between drugs, medicines and patients; the concept of professionalism and the responsibilities associated with being a professional; the culture and ethos of pharmacy as it relates to the total health-care setting.
The prescription. The model prescription, the legal requirements of a prescription, types of prescriptions, common pharmaceutical Latin abbreviations. Trade names, generic names. The role of the pharmacist in relation to the physician, the prescription and the patient. Recording of prescriptions and patient profiles.
Dispensing. The qualities of a properly dispensed medicine. Dispensing drill as applied to pharmacy practice.
Legal aspects of pharmacy. Sources of formulae, legal precedents for standards, introduction to the Pharmacists Act and Regulations, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act, Schedules to the Act and Regulations.
The pharmacy of a selected group of commonly used drugs. Their pharmacy and their various presentations.
Report writing. The main features of a report. Clarity of style. Conclusions of reports. References and bibliography.
Use of library. Functions of library. Services offered. Introduction to classification systems used in the Victorian College of Pharmacy. Optimum use of the library. Searching techniques and the computers involved.
Development. Factors governing development, early years, cognitive development, personality and social development, identification, adolescence, search for identity, middle years, old age, how to relate to geriatric patients.
Perception. An overview, perceptual processes. Prescription reading and perception, patient/professional perception.
Consciousness and control. Consciousness, sleep, dreams, psychoactive drugs and consciousness. The non-therapeutic use of drugs.
Conditioning and learning. Classical, operant conditioning, reinforcement, cognitive and individualising learning. Learning procedures and good counselling.
Remembering. Memory, short term, long term, improving memory, aids to memory, improving patient compliance.
Emotions and motivation. Motivational concepts, basic drives, hunger, obesity, sex, theories of motivation, aggression, emotion, emotional expression, motivation and the pharmacist, motivation and the patient.
Mental abilities. Genetic and environmental determinants of intelligence, testing aptitude and achievements, effect of age on body processes and intelligence, communication with less able individuals.
Personality and its assessment. Shaping of personality, approaches to personality, trait, social learning, psychoanalytic, phenomenological, the noncompliant personality.
Abnormal behaviour. An introduction to the classification of psychopathologies as laid down by the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edition) (DSMIV). Handling difficult clients.
Conflict and stress. Frustration, anxiety, stress, defence mechanisms. Illnesses related to stress. The health professional and stress.
The therapies. Patients' symptoms, attitudes, means of modifying behaviour in a positive direction. Applications to patients.
Twelve 3-hour sessions in the dispensing of medicines
A three-hour session will also be held in which each student will present a 5-10 minute oral dissertation to the group on a given aspect of drug use as depicted by `self-care' cards. In conjunction with the lectures and practicals a `drug in profile' will be displayed each week. Students are expected to maintain records of the pharmacy of these `drugs in profile'.
+ Progress examination (May) (1.5 hours): 10%
+ Essay (2000 words): 15% +áPractical work: 10%
+ End-of-year examination (2.5 hours): 65%
+ Dispensing: Students are required to reach a satisfactory level of competence in dispensing by the end of the course