Quantitating drug binding (P02168)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : BIO-P-QDB

In three practical sessions, students individually will determine the binding constant of an agonist to rat-brain muscarinic acetylcholine receptor using a filter assay to measure bound receptor. Further sessions will derive the binding constants and total number of receptors from the data, including use of non-linear least squares fit to the hyperbola describing binding. This analysis will be used to determine variances for the parameters fitted and will lead to a critical examination of the design of the experiment. Other techniques for determining binding constants will be considered, with an emphasis on the appropriate windows in which they can be applied and on potential artefacts and pitfalls.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : Entry to the course will be for students already holding (or expecting to hold) an Honours degree or equivalent in a biological subject such as biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, pharmacology. Students with a background in chemistry, physics, computer science or informatics will also be considered and those with other scientific or medical backgrounds should contact the Course Director

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate, (School of Biological Sciences, Schedule K)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
22/09/2008	09:00	10:50	Room 1.101, Darwin Building + Outhouses	KB

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	09:00	12:00	KB

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Overall: - to have a deeper knowledge and critical appreciation of how binding constants for drug molecules to their targets are determined.
Specifically:
- be competent to carry out the experimental manipulations to determine a binding constant of a drug to its target using a radioactive filter assay;
- be able to work safely with radioactivity;
- understand how to derive a binding constant of a drug to its target and the stoichiometry;
- use a spreadsheet to carry out calculations;
- apply non-linear least squares methods to fit equations and to derive the variances in the parameters fitted;
- appreciate how best to design an experiment so that the parameters are well determined;
- acquire working knowledge of a number of techniques to determine drug binding to their targets;
- design and populate a web site explaining a specific technique used to measure drug binding; and
- show, through a blog, that you can reflect at a deep level on the material in the course and provide evidence that you have achieved the learning outcomes.