Compilation, validation and evaluation of a 2d/3d molecular database as an adjunct to didactic teaching modalities

Abstract

Medicinal chemistry is considered an essential component of educational preparation for the pharmacy profession. Effective explanation and comprehension of chemical concepts requires considerable effort due to the intrinsically abstract nature of key principles. The inclusion of two and three dimensional visual adjuncts to traditional lecturing methods provides an innovative and student-inclusive approach towards optimisation of chemistry related education. A molecular database was created that featured therapeutic, physicochemical and visual information of drugs used in infection, musculoskeletal and endocrine disorders. Visuals created include two and three dimensional graphical representations of all the drugs included as well as three dimensional graphics of the drug interacting with its cognate receptor where possible. Expert panel validated pre- and post- intervention questionnaires were then used to evaluate the impact and utility of the two and three dimensional molecular database of therapeutically relevant drugs amongst undergraduate pharmaceutical science students at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Malta. The intervention lecture incorporated both traditional teaching and use of the visual adjuncts using case based approaches. The results of paired samples t-tests, the Friedman test and the MannWhitney statistical tests show statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05 level of significance in all cases) in both student performance and student mentality towards the subject.