GPAT Pharmaceutical Chemistry Syllabus

Pharmaceutical Chemistry syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Pharmaceutical Chemistry in GPAT, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry

   4 topics

   • Dentifrices, desensitizing agents, & anticaries agents
   • Pharmaceutical Impurities
   • Isotopes
   • Monographs
2. 2

   Medicinal Chemistry

   4 topics

   • Various classes of therapeutic agents
   • Different classes of therapeutic drugs
   • Therapeutic classes of drugs
   • Different classes of therapeutic drugs

Pharmaceutical Chemistry flashcards for GPAT

21 of 50 cards from the Pharmaceutical Chemistry deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a dentifrice?

   A substance (paste, powder, gel, or liquid) used with a toothbrush to clean and polish teeth, remove dental plaque and food debris, and deliver active agents like fluoride.

2. What are the main ingredients of a typical toothpaste dentifrice?

   Abrasives, humectants, water, surfactants (detergents/foaming agents), binders/thickeners, sweeteners, flavoring agents, preservatives, and therapeutic agents such as fluoride.

3. Name common abrasives used in dentifrices.

   Calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, hydrated silica, calcium pyrophosphate, sodium metaphosphate, and alumina.

4. What is the function of humectants in toothpaste, and give examples.

   Humectants prevent the paste from drying out and hardening by retaining moisture; examples are glycerin, sorbitol, and propylene glycol.

5. Which surfactant is most commonly used as the foaming/detergent agent in dentifrices?

   Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).

6. What is a desensitizing agent in dentistry?

   An agent that reduces dentinal hypersensitivity (pain from exposed dentin) either by occluding/blocking open dentinal tubules or by depolarizing/blocking nerve transmission in the pulp.

7. How does potassium nitrate act as a desensitizing agent?

   Potassium ions diffuse along dentinal tubules and depolarize the nerve, preventing repolarization and thereby blocking the transmission of pain signals.

8. Name desensitizing agents that work by occluding (plugging) dentinal tubules.

   Strontium chloride, stannous fluoride, sodium fluoride, calcium compounds, and formaldehyde-containing agents.

9. What are anticaries agents?

   Agents that prevent dental caries (tooth decay), most notably fluorides, which strengthen enamel and inhibit demineralization by acids produced by oral bacteria.

10. How do fluorides prevent dental caries?

    Fluoride converts hydroxyapatite of enamel into the more acid-resistant fluorapatite, promotes remineralization, and inhibits bacterial enzyme (enolase) activity that produces acid.

11. Name the common fluoride compounds used as anticaries agents in dentifrices.

    Sodium fluoride, stannous fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate (SMFP), and amine fluorides.

12. What is the chemical name and significance of fluorapatite?

    Calcium fluorophosphate, Ca5(PO4)3F; it is the acid-resistant mineral formed when fluoride replaces hydroxyl in enamel hydroxyapatite, making teeth more decay-resistant.

13. Define pharmaceutical impurity.

    Any component of a drug substance or drug product that is not the chemical entity defined as the active ingredient or an excipient, i.e., an unwanted chemical that may affect purity, safety, or efficacy.

14. What are the major sources of impurities in pharmaceuticals?

    Raw materials, reagents/intermediates, solvents, reaction byproducts and incomplete reactions, degradation products, atmospheric contamination, manufacturing equipment, and packaging/storage.

15. According to ICH, how are impurities in drug substances classified?

    Into organic impurities (process- and drug-related), inorganic impurities (heavy metals, reagents, catalysts, filter aids), and residual solvents.

16. What is the limit test for chloride based on?

    Reaction of chloride with silver nitrate in nitric acid medium to form silver chloride; the opalescence (turbidity) produced is compared against a standard opalescence.

17. What is the principle of the limit test for heavy metals?

    Heavy metals react with hydrogen sulfide (or thioacetamide) in acidic/buffered medium to form colored sulfides; the brown color is compared with a standard lead solution.

18. What reagent and principle are used in the limit test for iron?

    Iron reacts with thioglycollic acid in presence of ammonia/citric acid to form a pale pink to purple ferrous thioglycollate complex, compared against a standard iron solution.

19. What is the principle of the modified Stieglitz limit test for arsenic?

    Arsenic is converted to arsine gas (AsH3) by nascent hydrogen, which reacts with mercuric chloride paper to produce a yellow to brown stain compared with a standard stain.

20. What is the limit test for sulphate based on?

    Sulphate reacts with barium chloride in presence of dilute hydrochloric acid to form insoluble barium sulphate; the resulting turbidity is compared with a standard.

21. What is the difference between a limit test and an assay?

    A limit test is a qualitative/semi-quantitative test to determine that an impurity does not exceed a specified limit, whereas an assay quantitatively determines the actual amount of active ingredient present.

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