M.SC PHARMACOLOGY

PHARMACOLOGY — M Sc
OBJECTIVES
The following self-learning sessions for PG students;
• Post graduate lectures in systemic pharmacology to update various aspects basic pharmacology
and applied therapeutics
• Therapeutic club: To critically analyze the day to day development in new drugs
• Journal club: To familiarize research methodologies and application of statistics in experiments
• Seminars: To update newer developments in pharmacology/emerging trends/ novel mechanisms
of drug action etc.
• Practical exercises: Once in a week, under the supervision of a faculty, with/without the help of
animals, various principles/ mode of drug action/ screening of drugs/ drug analysis using various
techniques should be performed to develop practical skills to conduct similar experiments in future.
• Thesis: Each PG student will carry out research work under the supervision of a faculty member
of the Pharmacology Department. The thesis will be submitted to AIIMS and will be analysed by
suitable experts in that field. The acceptance of the thesis by the institute will be a prerequisite for
the candidate to be allowed to appear in the written/practical examination.
MSc EXAMINATION
Theory examination
Paper- I
General pharmacological principles and allied sciences (section -1)
Paper-II
Systemic pharmacology, chemotherapy and therapeutics (section-2)
Paper-III
Experimental pharmacology, bioassay, statistics, pharmacokinetics and recent advances (section-3)
14 Syllabus M Sc / M Biotech — AIIMS
Practical examination ( 2 days)
(1) One exercise on intact animal**
(2) One exercise on isolated organ**
(3) One chemical pharmacology exercise
Oral examination
(1) Thesis presentation and discussion
(2) General viva voce
SECTION 1
1.a. GENERAL PHARMACOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND APPLIED SCIENCES
1.b. TOXICOLOGY
Antidotes in the management of poisoning. Applied analytical toxicology and toxicovigilance.
1.c. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY IN PHARMACOLOGY
Gene expression, Pharmacogenomics, Proteomics, techniques involved in studying receptor dynamics.
PCR, Northern blot, Southern blot and Western blot. Protein purification. Mono, poly clonal antibodies.
Molecular biology in receptor identification. Antisense oligonucleotides, molecular targets of drug action.
1.d. ISOLATION OF COMPOUNDS FROM HERBAL SOURCES
Basic constituents of plants (chemical classification). Isolation of active constituent from plant materials.
Percolation and maceration. Qualitative constituent characterisation techniques. Utilisation of HPTLC
for the constituent analysis. Estimation of marker compound in biological fluid after crude plant material
administration.
Practical skills: Isolation of active principles from medicinal plants
1.e. WONDER DISCOVERIES IN PHARMACOLOGY
Nobel laureates in Pharmacology and their revolutionary discoveries
SECTION 2
SYSTEMIC PHARMACOLOGY
Autonomic nervous system
Central nervous system
Autocoids
Drugs affecting kidney function and Cardiovascular system
Drugs affecting gastrointestinal and respiratory system
Drugs affecting uterine motility
Chemotherapy of parasite infections
Course and Curriculum of Pharmacology 15
Chemotherapy of microbial diseases
Antineoplastic agents
Immunomodulators
Drugs acting on blood and blood forming organs
Hormones
Miscellaneous
Vitamins (water soluble and fat soluble vitamins). Heavy metals and heavy metal antagonists. Ocular and
dermato-pharmacology . Recent developments in Pharmacology time to time. Gene therapy. Therapeutic
gases. Free radical biology and antioxidants, pharmacology of biophosphonates, melatonin-therapeutic
potential. Pharmacotherapy of migraine, Drug therapy in Alzheimer’s disease and male sexual dysfuntion.
Hormone replacement therapy.
SECTION 3
3.a. EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY, BIOASSAY AND STATISTICS AND
RECENT ADVANCEMENTS
Experimental methodologies involved in the discovery of drugs (in vivo, in vitro, ex vivo). Animal
handling and animal care. Methods of anaesthetising animals and methods of euthanasia. Restraining and
blood collecting methods. Drug screening methods involved in the evaluation of anti-ulcer, antidepressant,
antianginal, antihypertensive, antiarrhythmic, antidiabetic, anticataract, anti-platelet, anticancer, antiinflammatory,
antidiarrhoeal, antiepileptic, analgesic, antithyroid, antipyretic, antiglaucoma,
antihyperlipidemic antiasthmatics drugs and cough suppressants. Drug screening methods used in screening
antifungal, antihelminthic, antibacterial, antiviral agents, drugs for heart failure, posterior pitutary, adrenal
steroid (gluco & mineralo corticoids), testicular, parathyroid, ovarian, thyroid hormones, Methods involved
in testing teratogenicity, carcinogenicity and organ toxicities in animals.
Practical Skills**: Effect of antiinflammatory agents on caraagennan induced rat paw edema.
Evaluation of analgesic activity of morphine using tail flick latency test. Evaluation of cardiotonic drugs
on isolated rabbit heart (Langendroff isolated heart preparation). Demonstration of Dale’s vasomotor
reversal and nicotinic effect of acetylcholine on dog blood pressure. Effect of autonomic drugs on
rabbit intestine. Demonstration of bronchodilation on guinea pig tracheal chain. Effect of sedatives on
rodents (rotarod test).
Four point assay of histamine and acetylcholine on guinea pig ileum. Four point assay of 5HT on rat
uterus. Estimation of PA2 value of atropine. Identification of unknown by evaluating its action on dog
haemodynamic parameters. Assay of acetylcholine using rat fundus. Estimation of pressor agents on rat
blood pressure.
3.b. INSTRUMENTATION IN DRUG ANALYSIS
Qualitative testing, titrimetric analysis. Beer and Lambert’s law. Basis and working principle of colorimeter,
ultraviolet, atomic absorption spectrometers, Fluorescence spectroscopy, NMR and Mass Spectroscopy.
Basics of Chromatography. Partition, adsorption and ionexchange chromatography. column
chromatography, thin layer chromatography, paper chromatography, immunoabsorbant chromatography,
high performance thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and gas
16 Syllabus M Sc / M Biotech — AIIMS
Chromatography. Radio immunoassay. Processing of biological materials for drug analysis. Calculations
in drug analysis. Good laboratory practice. Validation of analytical procedure.
Practial skills: Spectrophoto & flurimetric estimations of drugs in biological fluids.
3.c. BIOSTATISTICS
Calculation of basic statistical parameters (mean, median, mode, standard deviation, standard error
etc.). Null hypothesis, parametric and non parametric tests (Student ‘t test, Wilcoxon, ANOVA
etc.).Metaanalysis.
Practical skills: Calculation for statistical significance in the given data for Student paired and unpaired
`t test. Applying ANOVA to the given set of concentration vs time data of two drug formulations to
comment about their bio-equivalence.
3.d. PHARMACOKINETICS
Basics of pharmacokinetics, calculation of pharmacokinetic estimates (C-max, Tmax, T1/2, AUC(0-n),
AUC(0-μ), Vd, Ke, Ka etc.) Compartment models used in pharmacokinetics (oral and intravenous).
Compartment fitting (one comp & two comp). Pharmcodynamic /pharmacokinetic (PK/PD) correlation.
Practical skills: Calculation of Pharmacokinetic estimates from given concentration vs time data
3.e. DRUG REGULATIONS
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Drug Price Control order, Application for Investigational New Drug (IND),
Application for New Drug Discovery (NDD) according to Indian Control Authority & USFDA guidelines.
Conducting bio-equivalence studies. Ethical considerations in utilizing human subjects for drug discovery
process. Helsinki’s declaration. ICH-GCP Guidelines. Ethical guidelines in utilising animals for experimental
purposes.
Practical skills: Draft an IND and NDD application for the approval of a numbered compound.
3.f. DRUG DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Methods involved in the development of new drugs. Preclinical toxicological studies. Calculation of
LD50 & ED50. Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies. Irwin profile test, Pre-clinilcal pharmacokinetic
and dynamic studies. Lipinski’s rule for drug like molecule, High throughput screening (invitro and
invivo) for pre-clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.
3.g. DRUG DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Methods involved in the development of new drugs. Preclinical toxicological studies. Calculation of
LD50 & ED50. Acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies. Irwin profile test, Pre-clinilcal pharmacokinetic
and dynamic studies. Lipinski’s rule for drug like molecule, High throughput screening (invitro and
invivo) for pre-clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.
3.h. THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING
Basic principles of TDM. Therapeutic index. Trough level monitoring and dosage adjustments.
Drug delivery systems: sustained release, enteric coated formulations and liposome etc.
Pharmacovigilance, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmacogenetics And Drug Information
Course and Curriculum of Pharmacology 17
Books recommended
1. Goodman Gillman’s The Pharmacological basis of therapeutics. (2001) Ed. Hardman JG, Limbird
LE (Tenth Edition) McGraw Hill press New York.
2. Applied biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics (1999) Ed. Sargel L. (IV Edition) Prentice-Hall
International, London.
3. Fundamentals of experimental pharmacology. (1984) Ed.Ghosh MN. Scientific book agency, Calcutta.
4. Text book of receptor pharmacology. Eds. Forman JC, Johansen TJ CRC Press, New York 1996.
5. Drug Discovery and Evaluation –Pharmacological assays. (1997) Ed.Vogel HG & Vogel WH. Springer-
New York.
Journals to be referred
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Annual Review of Pharmacology, Pharmacological Reviews, Indian
Journal of pharmacology, Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, Annals of Pharmacotherapy,
Pharmacology and Experimetnal Therapeutics, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Nature, Science, European
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, BJCP and other pharmacology related jounrals
**PRACTICAL EXERCISE USING ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS IS SUBJECT TO ETHICAL
APPROCAL