This document provides an overview of the various applications of chemistry in biological and medical sciences. It discusses how chemistry is applied in areas such as medicine and healthcare through drug development, food chemistry through food additives, structural biology through techniques like NMR and X-ray crystallography, nuclear chemistry in medical imaging and diagnosis, inorganic chemistry in metal-based drugs, and nanotechnology for targeted drug delivery and therapy. The document also gives examples of specific applications like anticancer drugs, preservatives, sweeteners, structural analysis of proteins, brain tumor detection using radiolabeling, and nanoparticle-based antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory treatments.

1. An Overview of Research in
Chemistry: Application to Biological
and Medical Sciences

2. Contents
Chemistry & Its Branches
Chemistry in Medicine & Health care
Chemistry in Food
Use of NMR & X-ray Crystallography in Structural Biology
Application of Nuclear Chemistry
Application of Inorganic Chemistry
Application of Nanotechnology

3. What is
chemistry?
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical
reactions, but also its composition, structure and
properties.
Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions
with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of
chemical bonds.

4. Subdisciplines of Chemistry

5. Major Subdisciplines of Chemistry
Analytical chemistry
Inorganic chemistry
Biochemistry
Physical chemistry
Materials chemistry
Organic chemistry
Nuclear chemistry
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry

6. Chemistry in Everyday life
There is no aspect of our life that is not affected by
developments in chemistry.
Chemistry plays a very vital role in our everyday life. Our daily need of
food, clothing, shelter, potable water, medicines etc. are connected with
chemical compounds, processes and principles.
Chemistry has important contribution for giving us:
 Life saving drugs
 Synthetic fibers,
 Synthetic detergents
 Variety of cosmetics
 Preservatives for our food
 Fertilizers & pesticides
 Paper
 Glass
 Plastics
 Beautiful paints etc.

7. Application of Chemistry in
biological and Medical Sciences

8. Chemistry in Medicines & Healthcare
Type of Drug Its Use Example
Antipyretics Lower the temperature of body Aspirin, paracetamol, phenacetin.
Analgesics used to relieve pain naproxen, diclofenac sodium.
Antiseptics used to kill or prevent the growth
of micro-organisms.
furacin, soframycin
Anticancer drugs to treat cancerous growths. cisplatin
Tranquilizers treatment of stress, mild and
severe mental diseases
membutal, veronal, luminal
Antihistamines diminish the actions of histamine
released in the body and hence
pervent allergy.
Benadryl, Avil, foristal
Antacids neutralize acid in the gastric juice
and relief from acidity, heat
burns
Baking soda in water, cimetidine,
rantidine.
Anesthetics produce general or local
insensibilty to pain and other
sensations.
Chloroform, vinyl ethers
The chemical substances used for treatment of diseases and for reducing sufferings
from pain are called medicines or drugs.
Some of the medicinal compounds are discussed below:

9. Uses of Chemistry in Practice of
Medicine
Principle Involved Its Role
Electrochemistry
•Na+ ion pump
•Nerve conduction and action potentials.
•Electrical gradient
Gas laws and diffusion •O2 and CO2 diffusion in alveoli of lungs
Solubility
•Will certain chemicals be able to diffuse through the cell
membrane i.e. lipid bilayer
•How will the concentration of chemicals (drugs) be distributed
through body tissues.
Kinetics
•How rapidly are chemicals we give patients degraded in the body.
•Half life of drugs
Metals
•Iron-Hemoglobin and O2 transport
•Copper-Immune system health
•Zinc-Wound healing, smell and taste
Nuclear chemistry
•Isotopes used for imaging studies-Technetium Tc99
•Isotopes used for therapy-Radioactive Iodine I131

10. Chemicals in Food
Many chemicals are added to the food materials for their
preservation and enhancing their appeal. These are flavourings,
sweetners, antioxidants, fortifiers, emulsifiers and antifoaming
agents.
1. Preservatives: To prevent their spoilage and retain their nutritive
value for long periods. E.g. common salt, sugar, oils, sodium benzoate,
butylated hyrdroxyanisole (BHA).
2. Artificial Sweetening Agents: Give sweetening effect to the food.
E.g. Saccharin (300 time more sweeter than sucrose), aspartame,
dihydrochalcones.
3. Antioxidants: Prevent oxidation and subsequent spoilage of food. E.g.
butylated p-hydroxy toluene, esters of gallic acid (propyl gallate),
lecithin.

11. Use of NMR and X-ray crystallography in structural
biology
Structure elucidation:
• X-ray crystallography
• NMR
P. falciparum (malaria)
Dihydrofolate reductase
Human HSP90 Human HIV-1 reverse
transcriptase

12. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of
proteins
Protein NMR is a field of structural
biology in which NMR spectroscopy is
used to obtain information about the
structure and dynamics of proteins.
Apart from 1D technique, there are 2D
techniques as well:
1H-1H COSY } short-distance info
1H-1H TOCSY } short-distance info
1H-1H NOESY } long-distance info
(plus tons of other techniques – including
3D NMR)
Each technique gives complementary
information.
The blue arrows represent the
orientation of the N – H bond of selected
peptide bonds. By determining the
orientation of a sufficient amount of
bonds relative to the external magnetic
field, the structure of the protein can be
determined.

13. Application of Nuclear
Chemistry in Medical
Science

14. Brain tumour location:
o Brain tumours are difficult to locate.
o We label dye that are preferentially
adsorbed by cancerous cells with 131I
(diiodofluorescein or rose bengal) and scan
entire space around skull by special
counters.
Assessing the volume of Blood in pateint:
o Sometimes necessary for surgeon to know
amount of blood in patient of anemia,
severe haemorrhage in an accident.
o Isotope dilution method is used, and label
1ml of pateint ‘s blood with 24Na.

15. Application of Inorganic
Chemistry in Medical
Science

16. Metal complexes in medicine
Comparison to organic-based medicines,
metal complexes have more
• coordination numbers
• geometries and
• oxidation/reduction states.
Targets of metal-based medicines
include DNA, protein, and enzymes.

17. • Metal complexes targeting DNA
DNA has been the primary target of metal complexes
due to the ability of cationic metal interacting with
the anionic backbone of DNA.
 The anticancer chemotherapy drug cisplatin
covalently binds to DNA, which disrupts
transcription and leads to programmed cell death.
• Metal complexes targeting enzymes and proteins
Metal complexes can interact with the amino acids
with the highest reduction potential (histidine,
cysteine, and selenocysteine).

18. Platinum: Along with cisplatin,
platinum complexes inhibits
thioredoxin reductase and
topoisomerase I.
Gold: A drug (auranofin, a
gold(I) phosphine complex) has
shown value in treating parasitic
disease through inhibiting
thioredoxin glutathione
reductase
Ruthenium: They have
anticancer activity. And are
glutathione transferase
inhibitors.
Vanadium: Oxovanadium
porphyrin complexes have
demonstrated HIV-1 reverse
transcriptase inhibition in vitro.
METAL
COMPLEXES

19. Application of Nanotechnology to
Medical Sciences

20. • Drug Delivery
Nanoparticles are used to deliver drugs, heat, light or other
substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells).
Particles are engineered so that they are attracted to diseased
cells, which allows direct treatment of those cells.
 This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and
allows for earlier detection of disease.
• Anti-Microbial Techniques
 Nanocrystalline silver which is as an antimicrobial agent for the
treatment of wounds.
 A nanoparticle cream has been shown to fight staph infections.
The nanoparticles contain nitric oxide gas, which is known to kill
bacteria.

21. • Therapy Techniques
 Buckyballs may be used to trap free radicals
generated during an allergic reaction and block the
inflammation that results from an allergic reaction.
 Nanoshells may be used to concentrate the heat
from infrared light to destroy cancer cells with
minimal damage to surrounding healthy cells.
 Nanoparticles, when activated by x-rays, that
generate electrons that cause the destruction of
cancer cells to which they have attached
themselves.
 Nanofibers can stimulate the production of
cartilage in damaged joints.
 Nanoparticles may be used, when inhaled, to
stimulate an immune response to fight respiratory
virsuses.

22. References
• Fundamentals of medicinal chemistry- Gareth
Thomas
• Modern abc of Chemistry- Class XII
• Essentials of Nuclear Chemistry- Arnicar
• portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/educatio
n/.../research/index.htm
• www.understandingnano.com/medicine.html
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_chemistry

23. Thank You