Chemistry and creativity Wilson and Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry
Wilson and Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry
John M. Beale, Jr., PhD
Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
Division of Basic and Pharmaceutical Sciences
St. Louis College of Pharmacy
Saint Louis, Missouri
For 6 decades, Wilson and Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry has been a standard in the literature of medicinal chemistry. Generations of students and faculty have depended on this textbook not only for undergraduate courses in medicinal chemistry but also as a supplement for graduate studies. Moreover, students in other health sciences have found certain chapters useful. The current editors and authors worked on the 12th edition with the objective of continuing the tradition of a modern textbook for undergraduate students and also for graduate students who need a general review of medicinal chemistry. Because the chapters include a blend of chemical and pharmacological principles necessary for understanding structure–activity relationships and molecular mechanisms of drug action, the book should be useful in supporting courses in medicinal chemistry and in complementing pharmacology courses.
The 12th edition follows in the footsteps of the 11th edition by reflecting the dynamic changes occurring in medicinal chemistry. With increased knowledge of the disease process and the identification of the key steps in the biochemical process, the chapters have been updated, expanded,
and reorganized. At the same time, to streamline the presentation of the content, some topics were
combined into existing chapters. For example, Chapter 2, “Drug Design Strategies,” incorporates
material from 11th edition Chapters 2, 3, and 28, and Chapter 3, “Metabolic Changes of Drugs and
Related Organic Compounds,” includes the content from 11th edition Chapter 5, “Prodrugs and
Drug Latentiation.” In addition, with the newer drugs that have entered the pharmaceutical armamentarium since publication of the 11th edition, coverage of the following topics has been expanded in the 12th edition: Central Dopaminergic Signaling Agents (Chapter 13), Anticonvulsants
(Chapter 14), Hormone-Related Disorders: Nonsteroidal Therapies (Chapter 20), Agents Treating
Bone Disorders (Chapter 21), and Anesthetics (Chapter 22).
New features of the 12th edition include a chapter overview at the beginning of each chapter to introduce material to be covered in the chapter and review questions at the end of each chapter to reinforce concepts learned in the chapter (answers to these questions are available to students on the book’s companion Web site; see next section).
