Medicinal Chemistry is a multidisciplinary discipline and the discovery of new bioactive molecules is one of its objectives. Molecular Hybridization (MH) is a strategy of rational design of new prototypes, where the lead compound is produced through an adequate fusion of pharmacophoric sub-unities. Undergraduate laboratory experiments for Medicinal Chemistry education with a focus on MH are scarce. Therefore, the present paper describes a practice class for some undergraduate courses (Pharmacy, Chemistry and/or Chemical Engineering) involving drug development and MH that can be performed at low cost. In this work, alternative materials such as paracetamol and sulfadiazine tablets were used to engage student's attention and to contextualize important concepts of MH. The experiment describes the synthesis of a new compound involving the azo coupling between an aromatic amine (sulfadiazine) and a phenol (paracetamol) to show undergraduate students a practical example of MH. In this case, SciFinder® - a search website of the American Chemical Society - was also demonstrated and utilized as a search tool in the proposed experimental class.
Keywords
medicinal chemistry; molecular hybridization; azo coupling; SciFinder.®
