Teaching code

4S011742

Teacher

Giovanni Marzaro

Coordinator

Giovanni Marzaro

Credits

12

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

CHIM/08 - PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTRY

Period

SECONDO SEMESTRE dal Feb 16, 2026 al Jun 24, 2026.

Courses Single

Not Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

At the end of the course, which also includes laboratory exercises in a single place, the student will have knowledge of the quantitative, volumetric and instrumental methods of analysis, reported in the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia and the Official Italian Pharmacopoeia for determining the purity of active ingredients and of the active ingredient content in commercial formulations. In particular, the student is able to apply the acquired knowledge to real problems such as unknown quantitative analysis and quality control of pharmaceutical preparations.

Prerequisites and basic notions

In order to fully understand the topics that will be covered in the course "Drug Analysis I", it is essential that students have already acquired knowledge of:
- general and inorganic chemistry, with particular reference to the concepts of: acidity/basicity (acidity constants, Ka and pKa, calculation of the pH of solutions containing weak acids or weak bases, concept of buffer solution and calculation of the pH of a buffer solution given the concentrations of the acid and basic species in solution and their pKa value); complexation of ions; oxidation-reduction reactions.
In the course "Drug Analysis I" all the concepts considered as prerequisites will be widely used for the qualitative-quantitative characterization of drugs, intended in particular as raw materials for the preparation of the medicine. These concepts, therefore, will find a practical connotation in the pharmaceutical sciences, with particular reference to the concepts of efficacy, safety, quality.

Program

General information on drug analysis: concepts of quality, safety, efficacy and health education for the correct use of the drug/medicine; pharmacopoeia monographs for raw materials; difference between qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Representation of analytical data: concept of systematic and random error; accuracy and precision; statistical distribution of error; significant figures.
Good laboratory practices
Quantitative analysis methods: volumetric methods; spectrophotometric methods
Qualitative-quantitative analysis methods: chromatographic methods.
Qualitative analysis methods: chemical methods for the recognition of functional groups; chemical methods for the determination of the chemical formula (elementary analysis); methods for the determination of the degree of purity (melting point, polarimetry).

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teacher will use: a) lectures; b) classroom exercises simulating qualitative or quantitative analyses (for example: calculation of the title, identification of the substance of interest); c) practical laboratory exercises

Learning assessment procedures

Written exam (mandatory) lasting three hours with:
* 10 multiple choice questions on the entire program. A total of 0 to 10 points will be assigned (for each question: 0 for no answer; +1 for correct answer; -0.25 for incorrect answer).
* 1 open question on the theoretical part of the course (description of an analytical technique). Score from 0 to 10 points.
* 1 open question on the laboratory part of the course (description of one of the experiments carried out in the laboratory). Score from 0 to 5 points.
* 1 exercise in calculating the title of a raw material starting from the raw data of a hypothetical analysis. Score from 0 to 5 points.
Oral exam (optional, but strongly recommended for a written score lower than 20/30), consisting of 1-2 questions that may concern any topic covered in the course. Up to a maximum of 4 additional points will be assigned.
A written score lower than 18/30 does not entitle the student to the oral exam and will therefore result in failure to pass the exam.
There will be no ongoing assessments.
Further details on the exam procedures, as well as examples of questions (both written and oral) will be provided by the teacher at the beginning, halfway through and at the end of the course.

Evaluation criteria

In multiple choice questions (written exam): correctness of the answer. Maximum score: 10/30
In open questions (written exam): correctness of the answer, quality of the presentation, use of correct scientific terminology, correct application of the calculation formulas (if applicable). Maximum overall score: 15/30
In the calculation exercise (written exam): correctness of the value obtained, correct representation of the final value and significant figures, correct attribution of the conformity/non-conformity of the raw material with respect to what is provided for in the pharmacopoeia monograph (the monograph will be provided during the written exam). Maximum score: 5/30
In the questions of the optional oral exam: correctness of the answer, ability to create any connections between different but related topics, use of correct scientific terminology, quality of the presentation. Maximum score: 4/30

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The overall grade of the exam will be given by the sum of the scores obtained in the written exam (max: 30/30) and in the possible oral exam (max: +4).
Honors (30/30L) will be awarded upon reaching 32/30 points.
To achieve honors, it is therefore necessary to obtain at least 28 points in the written exam and take the oral exam obtaining the necessary score.
For details on the attribution of scores for the written and oral exam, see the section "learning assessment methods"

Exam language

Italiano