Pharmaceutical Biochemistry (M.S.) - Graduate - 2012 University Catalog

You are viewing the 2012 University Catalog. Please see the newest version of the University Catalog for the most current version of this program's requirements.

The objective of this program is to provide students with the opportunity to obtain a Master of Science Degree in Pharmaceutical Biochemistry at Montclair State University. Graduates from this program will be prepared for careers in applied research or product development in the pharmaceutical industry and for work in management, inspection, sales, and service. Specifically these graduates will have the requisite skills in biochemistry, drug design and pharmacology to set them on a career path in the pharmaceutical industry.

This program is uniquely poised to meet these objectives by providing a core curriculum which closely parallels the drug discovery process followed within the Pharmaceutical Industry. The core curriculum provides training in the biochemical aspects of drug discovery, drug screening and medicinal chemistry technologies and pharmacological evaluation of new drug candidates.

This program will ideally be suited for students with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry or Chemistry. The particular course of study will be developed on an individual basis for each student, so that students with a background in areas other than Biochemistry or Chemistry can be accommodated by including the necessary biochemical prerequisites before starting the core curriculum.

PHARMACEUTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY

Complete 32 semester hours including the following 3 requirement(s):

  1. CORE COURSES

    Complete 4 courses for 12 semester hours:

    CHEM 538 Drug Design in Medicinal Chemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 575 Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanisms (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 579 Biomolecular Assay Development (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab) 3
    CHEM 582 Biochemical Pharmacology (3 hours lecture) 3

  2. ELECTIVES

    Complete 18 semester hours (or 15 semester hours if completing Thesis) from the following:

    CHEM 525 Bioinorganic Chemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 531 Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 532 Organic Synthesis (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 533 Biosynthesis of Natural Products (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 534 Chromatographic Methods: Theory and Practice (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 570 Selected Topics in Advanced Biochemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 574 Protein Structure (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 576 Lipid Biochemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 577 Nucleic Acid Biochemistry (3 hours lecture) 3
    CHEM 578 Biochemistry Laboratory Techniques (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab) 3

  3. RESEARCH

    Complete 2 requirements:

    1. Complete 1 of the following options:

      1. RESEARCH & THESIS

        1. Complete for 3 semester hours.

          CHEM 595 Graduate Research 1-3

        2. Complete 2 Thesis requirement(s):

          1. Complete .

            CHEM 698 Master's Thesis 3

          2. Submit the completed Thesis original and one copy to the Graduate Office. See Thesis Guidelines for details.

      2. GRADUATE LITERATURE SEARCH

        Complete for 2 semester hours. A Pharmaceutical Biochemistry topic must be selected and approved by advisor.

        CHEM 599 Graduate Literature Search in Chemistry 2

    2. Make a formal oral presentation/defense of research project or thesis. Graduate School must be notified when complete.

Course Descriptions:

CHEM525: Bioinorganic Chemistry (3 hours lecture)

Exploration of the vital roles that metal atoms play in biochemical processes. Transition metal interactions with proteins will be emphasized. The course will focus on the structural, regulatory, catalytic, transport, and oxidation-reduction functions of metal containing biomolecules. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 341 (Physical Chemistry II) or instructor's permission.

CHEM531: Advanced Topics in Organic Chemistry (3 hours lecture)

Modern theories of organic chemistry with emphasis on electronic theory and reaction mechanisms. May be repeated three times for a maximum of 12.0 credits as long as the topic is different. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 430 (Advanced Organic Chemistry).

CHEM532: Organic Synthesis (3 hours lecture)

Detailed study of the art, methods, and the philosophy of organic synthesis beginning with a review of classical and modern synthetic methods, followed by the planning theory of synthesis and culminating in a study of elegant syntheses in the literature. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 430 (Advanced Organic Chemistry).

CHEM533: Biosynthesis of Natural Products (3 hours lecture)

A study of natural products with emphasis on the biosynthesis of primary and secondary metabolites. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 430 (Advanced Organic Chemistry) or equivalent.

CHEM534: Chromatographic Methods: Theory and Practice (3 hours lecture)

A combined lecture/hands-on course in the theory and practice of chromatography; including GC, HPLC, GC-MS, GPC, and SFC, as well as computerized instrument control, data acquistion, and processing. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 310 (Analytical Chemistry) and 311 (Instrumental Analysis) or equivalents.

CHEM538: Drug Design in Medicinal Chemistry (3 hours lecture)

A comprehensive course covering the design and action of pharmaceutical agents. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Matriculation into the graduate program or permission of instructor.

CHEM570: Selected Topics in Advanced Biochemistry (3 hours lecture)

A detailed treatment of selected topics in biochemistry. Special emphasis upon recent developments. Protein structure, enzymology, metabolism, nucleic acid chemistry are examples of topics. This course may be repeated for credit indefinitely as long as the topic is different each time. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or instructor's permission.

CHEM574: Protein Structure (3 hours lecture)

Primary, secondary and tertiary structure of proteins, protein structural motifs and protein structural families. Globular proteins, DNA binding proteins, membrane proteins, signal transduction systems, immune system protein structure, methods used for determination of protein structure. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: One semester of introductory Biochemistry or similar background.

CHEM575: Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanisms (3 hours lecture)

The following properties of enzymes are considered: structure, specificity, catalytic power, mechanism of action, multienzyme complexes, kinetics, regulation, and multienzyme systems. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or equivalent.

CHEM576: Lipid Biochemistry (3 hours lecture)

Chemistry of plant and animal lipids, their occurrence, metabolism, and industrial uses. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or equivalent.

CHEM577: Nucleic Acid Biochemistry (3 hours lecture)

This course will present fundamental aspects of nucleic acid biochemistry including structure and biological function and will be organized according to a systematic consideration of techniques used in the study of nucleic acids. Current literature and key topics such as protein-DNA, protein-drug complexes and nucleic acid repair mechanisms will be considered. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or equivalent.

CHEM578: Biochemistry Laboratory Techniques (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab)

Fundamental techniques used to isolate, characterize, and study nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Theory and application of buffers, spectrophotometry, tissue fractionation, centrifugation, extraction, chromatographic separations, electrophoresis, radioactivity, enzyme purification and dinetics, enzymatic assays, NMR and MS structure determination. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or equivalent.

CHEM579: Biomolecular Assay Development (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab)

This course will provide the student with hands-on experience of state of the art techniques used for drug discovery research in the pharmaceutical industry. These techniques include assay development for high throughput screening and molecular docking methods for lead discovery. Using these techniques will allow the student to understand the drug discovery process, which includes a dialogue between crystallographers, medicinal chemists, biochemists, and biologists. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 or instructor's permission.

CHEM582: Biochemical Pharmacology (3 hours lecture)

How drugs interact with, and influence biochemical pathways relevant to disease in the whole organism. Topics covered in this course deal with a review of fundamental concepts in biochemisty relevant to drug discovery, the process of drug discovery and specific examples of drug interactions with biochemical pathways and how they impact human disease. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: CHEM 370 and CHEM 371.

CHEM595: Graduate Research

Directed individual laboratory investigation under guidance of faculty advisor. May be elected once or twice, maximum credit allowed is 3 semester hours. 1 - 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Completion of 12 semester hours in this graduate program; instructor's permission.

CHEM599: Graduate Literature Search in Chemistry

An individual, non-experimental investigation utilizing the scientific literature. 2 sh.

Prerequisites: Completion of 12 semester hours in this graduate program.

CHEM698: Master's Thesis

Independent research project done under faculty advisement. Students must follow the MSU Thesis Guidelines, which may be obtained from the Graduate School. Students should take CHEM 699 if they don't complete CHEM 698 within the semester. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: Departmental approval.

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