Skip to main content
Unit of study_

PHAR1812: Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences

2024 unit information

Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences provides an introduction to principles underlying pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmaceutics. This provides the foundations for a more detailed study of the chemical characteristics of drug molecules, dosage forms and pharmacokinetics in later years of the degree. The physicochemical properties of drugs are explored from a pharmaceutical perspective complemented by the study of chemistry. Modules provide an introduction to acid/base and solubility characteristics of drug molecules, drug discovery and development, dosage forms, and fundamental mathematics. Small group work in workshop sessions supports the learning of material introduced in lectures.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Pharmacy

Code PHAR1812
Academic unit Pharmacy
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
None
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
None
Assumed knowledge:
? 
HSC Chemistry. Students who have not completed HSC Chemistry (or equivalent) are strongly advised to take the Chemistry Bridging Course (offered in February and as a distance course at other times of the year)

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. work effectively and cooperatively as a member of a learning team
  • LO2. identify different functional groups and classes of compounds
  • LO3. demonstrates a working understanding of fundamental concepts and techniques of chemistry necessary for understanding drug delivery, drug action, and therapeutics
  • LO4. describe the different physical properties of molecules
  • LO5. recognise the role that physical properties play in bioavailability
  • LO6. recognise that most drugs are low molecular weight chemicals
  • LO7. identify sources of drugs, the way they are discovered, purified, characterised, and analysed, and their physico-chemical properties
  • LO8. recognise the role that structure and physical properties play in intramolecular interactions and their importance in drug action and design
  • LO9. explain the relationship between molecular structure and molecular interactions
  • LO10. explain the different type of interactions between molecules
  • LO11. describe the origin of early medicines
  • LO12. identify classes of biological-relevant molecules
  • LO13. explain the basic principles underpinning the design of new drug molecules
  • LO14. identify classes of biologically important macromolecules as drug targets
  • LO15. demonstrate a basic understanding of drug mechanisms of action and how they relate to drug discovery process
  • LO16. interpret physicochemical information relating to the design and development of drugs
  • LO17. carry out simple numerical manipulations in the context of common pharmaceutical calculation problems
  • LO18. carry out simple algebraic manipulations
  • LO19. demonstrate numerical reasoning and recognise when answers to problems are not numerically possible
  • LO20. apply appropriate numeracy skills to the solution of pharmacy problems
  • LO21. demonstrate the ability to deal with the concept of uncertainty by devising alternatives which take account of qualifying, affording, and constraining variables, and appreciate that not all problems have a single correct solution.
  • LO22. identify different types of publications
  • LO23. (critically) evaluate the quality of a range of sources of information such as newspaper articles, internet sites, radio and television etc
  • LO24. identify the structures of typical publications such as primary research and review articles
  • LO25. use the most relevant pharmacy databases to search both electronic and hard copy resources to locate specific papers and to find relevant resources related to topics as allocated
  • LO26. (critically) examine scientific evidence, both quantitative and qualitative, in order to arrive at evidence-based conclusions
  • LO27. demonstrate an understanding of design, manufacture, and performance of drug dosage forms
  • LO28. describe the most common dosage forms used in therapeutics
  • LO29. identify the need for a range of dosage forms
  • LO30. identify the major advantages and disadvantages of common dosage forms

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote
Semester 1 2023
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.