VCE Chemistry - Medicinal Chemistry - Yarra Ranges Tech School

Maximum Number of Students

Duration

1 Day 9:30 – 2:30

Curriculum Areas

VCE – Chemestry

Description

What’s really in your painkillers?

Students learn real-world pharmacy skills, laboratory techniques and sample preparation. Students use High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to test over-the-counter medicine and determine the amount of active ingredients in their samples.

In Medicinal Chemistry, students step into the role of analytical chemists to explore the chemical world of pain relief medications. Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), they investigate the composition and purity of over-the-counter medications, learn how medicinal compounds are synthesised and analysed, and interpret real-world data to make decisions relevant to human health and pharmaceutical chemistry. This program integrates instrumental analysis with medicinal chemistry, giving students direct experience with advanced laboratory techniques used in research, industry, and forensic applications.

Learning Outcomes

Explain the structure and function of paracetamol and identify key functional groups.
Describe the principles of HPLC and its role in analytical chemistry.
Prepare and analyse samples of commercial paracetamol using HPLC.
Interpret chromatograms to determine the identity and purity of organic compounds.
Reflect on the real-world applications of analytical chemistry in medicine and pharmacology.

Career Paths

Medicinal chemist
Pharmaceutical chemist
Pharmacologist
Quality Control Chemist
Regulatory Affairs Officer
Toxicologist
Laboratory Technician

Tertiary Options

Certificiate III in Community Pharmacy
Certificate IV in Allied Health
Diploma of Laboratory Technology
Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science
Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery

Before your visit

Yarra Ranges Tech School has pre-work and post-work developed specifically for each program. We suggest reviewing and implementing these resources to enhance your curriculum and support alignment with the Victorian 2.0 curriculum.

Pre & Post Work

Share your resources

Yarra Ranges Tech School recognises the hard work our partner school teachers put into developing resources. If you have materials that link to our programs, we’d love to share them with your peers. Please contact us at YRTSProgrambookings@boxhill.edu.au to submit your resources.