Overview

Master essential chemistry principles that form the foundation of pharmacology, metabolism, and medical diagnostics. This course bridges basic chemical concepts with real-world healthcare applications, preparing you for advanced nursing coursework and clinical practice. Build confident understanding of molecular interactions, drug mechanisms, and laboratory interpretations essential for safe patient care. By the end of this course, you will be able to: Analyze atomic structure, bonding theories, and molecular interactions to understand drug-receptor mechanisms Evaluate acid-base equilibria, buffer systems, and redox reactions in biological and pharmaceutical contexts Explain organic chemistry principles including functional groups, stereochemistry, and reaction mechanisms relevant to biomolecules Apply pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic concepts to understand drug action, enzyme interactions, and antibiotic mechanisms Skills: Chemical Analysis, Laboratory Interpretation, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking

Syllabus

Chemistry: Introduction

Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties of matter. It is a natural science that involves the elements that make up matter—their compositions, structures, properties, and behaviors, as well as the changes they undergo when reacting with other substances. At its most basic level, chemistry helps to explain how molecules and atoms may interact via chemical bonds and form new chemical compounds. In the body, this can be applied to our fundamental building blocks—for example, explaining why DNA behaves the way it does, how proteins fold, and why cell membranes have hydrophilic and hydrophobic compartments. Clinically, we encounter chemistry most often as it applies to pharmaceuticals and pharmacology. It governs the behavior of these molecules in our bodies, as with regard to bioavailability to binding sites and other characteristics.

Ionic Chemistry

Ionic chemistry is the field of chemistry that focuses on ions and ionic bonds, including the concepts of acid–base reactions, oxidizing and reducing agents, buffer capacity, and equilibrium. Ionic bonding is the complete transfer of valence electrons between atoms. This type of chemical bond generates ions of opposite charges. In ionic bonds, the nonmetal becomes a negatively charged anion via acceptance of electrons, while the metal loses those electrons to become a positively charged cation. These concepts are extremely important for understanding basic physiologic functions, pharmacologic mechanisms, and the interplay between the two in the body. Buffers, for example, are regulators of pH in the bloodstream, while acid–base chemistry is key to understanding respiratory physiology. A strong grasp of ionic chemistry will serve you well in the field of medicine.

Medical Chemistry

You may notice that the Medical Chemistry section contains an inordinately large number of videos. This is no accident. The fields of medicine and chemistry are very closely linked, as the principles of the latter, in some way or another, touch nearly every aspect of the former (e.g., pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, and the basic building blocks of proteins and amino acids and how they interact with one another). Being able to grasp the chemical interplay between the human body and its environment is important not only for researchers and drug developers but also for clinicians.

Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry is the study of the structures, properties, compositions, reactions, and preparations of carbon-containing compounds. Most organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen, the backbones of organic chemistry, but often these compounds include any number of other elements, such as nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Organic compounds are found in many modern materials, including but not limited to agrochemicals, food, fuel, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and plastics. They have been an important factor in economic growth and have proven foundational to fields like medicine, biotechnology, and biochemistry.