Introduction to Pharmacology and Drug Delivery Systems

Pharmacology is a branch of science dealing with the study of the effects of drugs on biological systems. The focus of this module will be to introduce students to the principles of how drugs act in the body. Students will learn about the concepts of pharmacodynamics (how drugs affect the body) and pharmacokinetics (how the body processes drugs). The module will also explore different drug delivery systems.

1. Explain the processes of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion in biological systems.

2. Describe the basic mechanisms of drug-receptor interactions.

3. Construct and interpret dose-response curves for agonists and antagonists.

4. Compare and contrast the features of the four main drug targets.

5. Evaluate and compare different drug delivery systems.