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"The Science and Business of Medicinal Chemistry" was developed to provide nonscience majors with an in-depth perspective into the pharmaceutical industry. As a lecture course with a laboratory component, topics discussed include an introduction to the basic concepts of medicinal chemistry, such as drug discovery, development, and commercialization; a discussion of chemical bonding and the organic functional groups found in drug molecules; and an examination of the physiochemical properties related to drug action. Student scientific literacy of the public policy debates surrounding the pharmaceutical industry and the commercialization of science was enhanced through class discussions and group-based projects. The details of this course, its implementation, and assessment are discussed.

Anthraquinone derivatives are being considered for large scale energy storage applications because of their chemical tunability and rapid redox kinetics. The authors investigate four anthraquinone derivatives as negative electrolyte candidates for an aqueous quinone-bromide redox flow battery: anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (AQS), 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid (DHAQDS), alizarin red S (ARS), and 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2,3-dimethylsulfonic acid (DHAQDMS). The standard reduction potentials are all lower than that of anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid (AQDS), the molecule used in previous quinone-bromide batteries. DHAQDS and ARS undergo irreversible reactions on contact with bromine, which precludes their use against bromine but not necessarily against other electrolytes. DHAQDMS is apparently unreactive with bromine but cannot be reversibly reduced, whereas AQS is stable against bromine and stable upon reduction. The authors demonstrate an AQS-bromide flow cell with higher open circuit potential and peak galvanic power density than the equivalent AQDS-bromide cell. This study demonstrates the use of chemical synthesis to tailor organic molecules for improving flow battery performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]