The key difference between medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry is that medicinal chemistry deals with the designing, optimization, and development of new chemical compounds to use them as drugs whereas pharmaceutical chemistry deals with the study of drugs and their development.
Both medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry deals with the drugs or medicine that we use to treat different illnesses. Both these fields discuss the designing and development of drugs with very slight differences. One such difference is that medicinal chemistry study about not only drugs but also the mechanisms of action of these drugs inside our body.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Medicinal Chemistry
3. What is Pharmaceutical Chemistry
4. Side by Side Comparison – Medicinal Chemistry vs Pharmaceutical Chemistry in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Medicinal Chemistry?
Medicinal chemistry is a field of medicine that deals with the designing, optimization, and development of new chemical compounds to use them as drugs. In this field, we discuss the investigations of different drugs and their interactions with biological targets.
Moreover, a medicinal chemist is aware of the medicinal agents that are present in plants as well as the synthetic compounds that are used as drugs.
What is Pharmaceutical Chemistry?
Pharmaceutical chemistry includes the drug designing and development. It deals with the study of drugs and their development. This field includes the drug discovery, and study of drug delivery, absorption, etc. This subject has several sub-categories like biomedical analysis, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics.
What is the Difference Between Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry?
Medicinal chemistry is a field of medicine that deals with the designing, optimization, and development of new chemical compounds to use them as drugs. It also deals with the metabolism of the drug. Pharmaceutical chemistry includes the drug designing and development. It does not concern about the metabolism of the drug.
Summary – Medicinal Chemistry vs Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Both medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry deals with the drugs that we use to treat different diseases. The difference between medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry is that medicinal chemistry deals with the designing, optimization, and development of new chemical compounds to use them as drugs whereas pharmaceutical chemistry deals with the study of drugs and their development.
Reference:
1. “Medicinal Chemistry.” American Chemical Society. Available here
2. “What Is Pharmaceutical Chemistry?” Pharmaceutical Sciences Online Graduate Program. Available here
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