ABSTRACT
Medicinal chemistry is that branch of science that provides these drugs either through discovery or through design. The classical drugs of antiquity were primarily discovered by empirical observation using substances occurring naturally in the environment. In the last two centuries, drugs increasingly were also prepared by chemical alteration of natural substances. In the century just past many novel drugs were discovered entirely by chemical synthesis. An ever increasing understanding of the nature of disease, how cells work, and how drugs influence these processes has in the last two decades led increasingly to the deliberate design, synthesis and evaluation of candidate drug molecules. In the third millennium, all of these techniques are in use still and the student of drug design and development must appreciate their relative value. Added to this picture are novel opportunities made possible by deeper understanding of cell biology and genetics.
