Pharmaceutical Sciences: An Integrated Approach

The set of sciences which studies the design, action, delivery and disposition of drugs is known as pharmaceutical science. Its aim is to optimize the delivery of drugs to the body in order to use it to create better therapies against diseases in humans. They integrate the basic principles of organic and physical chemistry with biochemistry, biology and engineering. There are four main branches of pharmaceutical sciences - pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics, and pharmacognosy. The biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on humans are studied under pharmacology. Pharmaceutical chemistry studies the drug design to optimize pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in order to synthesize new drug molecules. Pharmaceutics focuses on the study and design of drug formulation for optimum stability and delivery. Pharmacognosy is related to the study of medicines derived from natural sources. This book contains some path-breaking studies in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. It presents researches and studies performed by experts across the globe. Researchers and students in this field will be assisted by this book.