Department of
Chemistry
Southern
CHEM 479
Toxicant structure and behavior (3)
Fall Semester, 1998
Tuesdays &
Thursdays
SL 1221
Course Instructor:
Dr. Kevin
A. Johnson, SL 2341 650-5934,
kevjohn@siue.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays
Objectives/Course
Description:
The course is designed to provide
students with an understanding of chemical behavior from a structural
perspective, from synthesis to degradation and/or detoxification
mechanisms. To illustrate, through
selected examples, the occurrence, structural features, and reactions of common
toxic substances found in the environment in relation to analytical detection,
toxic action, environmental fate, and ecological significance; and to lay a
basis for practical investigation and further study of the chemistry of toxic
substances.
Texts:
Cremlyn,
R. J. Agrochemicals: Preparation and
mode of action. John
Wiley and Sons,
Mann, J.,
Davidson, R. S.,
Singh, B. R. and
A. T. Tu (Eds.). Natural toxins 2: Structure, mechanism of action,
and detection. Plenum Press,
There may be supplemental articles
and/or books distributed in class or put on reserves at the library as the
semester progresses.
Preparation/Prerequisites:
General and organic chemistry;
biochemistry and toxicology are encouraged, but not essential; or consent of
the instructor.
Organization:
The class will be held twice a week
for one hour and fifteen minutes each.
There will be a short break before presentations on days when students
are giving presentations. Class
participation is expected and encouraged.
There will be two midterms (one take home and one in class), several quizzes, and the final taken
during the scheduled final exam (Tuesday, December 15,
Grading:
Participation 5%
Presentations 10%
Literature
critique/paper for presentations 10%
Homework 20%
Quizzes 10%
Exams: midterms 25%
final 15%
Attendance:
Attendance is essential for success
in this class. If excessive absenteeism
occurs, percentage points will be deducted from the overall grade. Unless arrangements are made with the
instructor prior to the due date, late assignments (homeworks,
papers, exams, etc.) will be marked down 10% a day beginning at the end of the
class period in which it was due. Quizes cannot be made up.
Student
Presentation/Paper:
Each student will give one
presentation accompanied by a small paper.
You will select a paper from the recent (within the past 2 years)
scientific literature pertinent to one of the compound classes discussed in the
month of the presentation. The paper
must in some manner relate to the structure of an individual compound or class. Papers dealing strictly with toxicity,
distribution or occurrence of toxicants are not appropriate; those that deal
with structure determination, toxicant-target interactions from a structural
perspective, synthesis, analysis, degradation, or metabolism are among subjects
suitable for the presentation.
One week preceding your
presentation, hand out copies of your selected article to the rest of the
class. For your presentation, provide
the necessary background for understanding the work, summarize the procedures
and findings, and provide a critical assessment of the solidity of the
research. Lead a class discussion
addressing issues such as: Are the conclusions correct; were the studies
rigorous enough to support the authors' conclusions; if assumptions were made,
are they valid; is there further work that needs to be pursued; and is it a
significant contribution to the field?
Student presentations will be
graded based on understanding of the subject, clarity of presentation, depth of
critical analysis and direction of class discussion. Class members will be graded based on
preparation for and participation in discussions throughout the semester.
Within two weeks
following the presentation, hand in a paper based on your presentation and the
ensuing discussion. This paper is
to provide a brief background of the subject, summary of the article and a
critical review of the work, with pertinent citations of resources used in your
research of the subject. The paper
should be approximately 6 pages, and will be graded based on clarity, organization,
writing ability, demonstration of understanding of the topic, and
sophistication of your critique.
NOTE: The content of student presentations will be included
in the material from which exam questions are produced.
Tentative Lecture Outline:
Review of chemical properties Aug. 25, and 27
Quantitative-Structure Activity relationships Sept. 1 and 3
Key topics appearing throughout the semester Sept. 8 and 10
(Kow , photosynthesis,
cholinesterase inhibition, LD50, LC50, etc.)
Library searching with Dr. Behm Sept.
15
Alkaloids Sept.
17, 22, and 24
Peptide Toxins Sept.
29 and Oct. 1
Take Home Exam handed out Oct. 6
Student Presentations Oct.
6
Mycotoxins Oct.
8 and 13
Take Home Exam turned in Oct. 13
Oxygen heterocyclics Oct.
15 and 20
Nitrogen heterocyclics Oct.
22 and 29
Student Presentations Oct.
27
Carbamic acids/ Urea derivatives Nov.
3 and 5
Student Presentations Nov.
10
Phosphorus and its compounds Nov.
12, and Dec. 1
In Class Exam Nov. 17
Ogranochlorinated compounds Dec.
3 and 8
Student Presentations Dec.
10
FINAL EXAM Dec.
15,
This is a tentative time line. The outline provides students with the order
in which topics will be discussed. Some
topics will be discussed for more than one meeting. Student presentations will be scheduled in
advance and are expected to begin September 27.
Policy Statement:
Academic Misconduct by Students
Faculty members retain their
traditional authority to take disciplinary action in the event of academic
misconduct. Acts of academic misconduct
for which students are subject to sanctions include, without limitation,
plagiarism, cheating, failure or refusal to follow clinical practice standards,
falsifying or manufacturing scientific or scholarly experiments or research,
and soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting such acts.
Plagiarism is defined as including,
without limitation, the act of representing the work of another as one's
own. Plagiarism may consist of copying,
paraphrasing, or otherwise using written or oral work of another without proper
acknowledgment of the source or presenting oral or written material prepared by
another as one's own.
In the event of academic
misconduct, the instructor may request the Student Assessments and Standards
Committee of the Department of Chemistry to impose on a student the sanction of
a failing grade on an individual assignment or on the course as a whole. The chair of the department may recommend to
the dean of Students other sanctions, such as dismissal from a major or from
the University.