NAME: ________________________

STUDENT No. ____________________

CHEMICAL BIOLOGY 4OB3
Term Test: 50 minutes ANSWER KEY
February 24, 2015

Dr. A. Capretta

This exam consists of 25 questions on 8 pages. You are responsible for ensuring that your copy of the exam is
complete. Bring any discrepancy to the attention of the invigilator BEFORE you begin writing the test.

Special Instructions:
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responsibility to ensure your test is legible.
Answer ALL questions on the test paper in the space provided.
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Question 1: The following structure is more active than morphine as an analgesic.

HO
H

O
O
acetyl

What is the principle reason for this?

a. The extra acetyl group interacts with an extra binding region within the binding site by acting as a hydrogen
bond acceptor.
*b. The extra acetyl group masks a polar group allowing the structure to cross the blood brain barrier more
efficiently.
c. The extra acetyl group masks a polar group allowing the structure to cross cell membranes more efficiently.
d. The extra acetyl group masks an alcohol group which would otherwise undergo a phase II metabolic
conjugation reaction leading to rapid excretion of the drug.
Question 2: The N-phenethyl analogue of morphine has an analgesic activity which is 14 times greater than
that of morphine. What is the principle reason for this?
HO

H
N

HO

a. The aromatic ring of the phenethyl group interacts with an extra hydrophilic region of the binding site.
*b. The aromatic ring of the phenethyl group interacts with an extra hydrophobic region of the binding site.
c. The phenethyl group increases the hydrophobicity of the molecule allowing a greater percentage to cross the
blood brain barrier.
d. The phenethyl group acts as a steric shield to protect the amine group from drug metabolism.
Question 3: The following structure was found to have an 800-fold increase in agonist activity when the group
shown in the box was added. What drug design strategy is illustrated here?
OH
HO

H
N
CH3

HO

*a. Extension.
b. Rigidification.
c. Substituent variation.
d. Conformational blocking.

OH

Question 4: Which of the following statements is true?

*a. Hydrophobic compounds have a high value of P.
b. Hydrophilic compounds have a high value of P.
c. Acidic compounds have a high value of P.
d. Basic compounds have a high value of P.
Question 5: Which of the following statements is true?
*a. The most stable conformation of a drug is not necessarily the active conformation.
b. The active conformation is the most reactive conformation of a structure.
c. The active conformation is the conformation adopted by a target binding site when it binds a drug.
d. The active conformation can be determined by conformational analysis.

Question 6: There are several strategies for stabilising susceptible bonds in peptides. Which of the following is
not used in this respect?
*a. Replacing a peptide link with an ester.
b. Adding an N-methyl group to the peptide link.
c. Using an unnatural amino acid.
d. Replacing an L-amino acid with a D-amino acid.

Question 7: Which of the following descriptions refers to the absorption process known as pinocytosis?
a. The process by which a drug is 'wrapped up' by a protein in the cell membrane such that it can be carried
across the cell membrane.
b. The process by which small molecules can squeeze through the small pores that exist between different cells
in the gut wall.
*c. The process by which drugs of large molecular weight are enveloped by the cell membrane, leading to the
pinching off of a membane bound vesicle which carries the drug into the cell.
d. The process by which ion channels open to allow the crossing of ions across the cell membrane.
Question 8: Which of the following sections of the digestive system has the lowest associated pH?
*a. stomach
b. duodenum
c. jejunum
d. ileum
Question 9: Which of the following terms is used to describe a drug that binds to a receptor, fails to activate it
and prevents the endogenous chemical messenger from binding?
a. agonist
*b. antagonist
c. partial agonist
d. inverse agonist

Question 10: The following antibiotic structure (Dactinomycin) is an intercalating agent. Which region of the
molecule is chiefly responsible for its ability to intercalate into DNA?
cyclic peptides

O
N

O
HN
O

O
HN

amide bonds

H
N

H
N

NH2

O
N
O

N
O

tricyclic system

*a. The tricyclic system.

b. One of the macrocyclic peptide rings.
c. Both of the macrocyclic peptide rings.
d. The amide bonds.
Question 11: The following agent is called mitomycin C and is used as an anticancer drug against a variety
of cancers.
urethane
H2N
primary
amino group

O
O

H2N
N
O

H
NH

aziridine

quinone
ring

The structure is a prodrug which is converted in the body to the active compound. What is the initial step in
this activation process?
a. Ring opening of the aziridine ring.
b. Hydrolysis of the urethane group.
c. Alkylation of the primary amino group.
*d. Reduction of the quinone ring system.
Question 12: Which of the following is a phase II metabolic reaction?
a. Formation of a carboxylic acid from a primary methyl group.
*b. Formation of a sulfate from an alcohol.
c. Formation of a carboxylic acid and alcohol from an ester.
d. Formation of a ketone at a benzylic carbon.
Question 13: The following structure is calicheamicin g1 and is an anti tumour agent derived from a
bacterium.
4

Which of the following functional groups is not involved in the mechanism of action?
*a. Thioamide.
b. Trisulfide.
c. a,b-unsaturated ketone.
d. Enediyne system.
Question 14: Which of the following terms best describes a drug that binds to an active site and inhibits the
enzyme, and where inhibition decreases when substrate concentration is increased?
a. allosteric inhibitor
b. irreversible inhibitor
*c. reversible inhibitor
d. suicide substrate

Question 15. Structures (II-IV) are analogues of a lead compound containing an aromatic ring (structure I).
Structures II and III had similar activity to the lead compound whereas structure IV showed a marked increase
in activity. Which of the following explanations best fits the facts?

a. Introducing a nitrogen increases basicity and so increased basicity is good for activity.
b. Introducing a nitrogen increases the polarity and water solubility of the analogues, and so increased polarity
is good for activity.
*c. Introducing a nitrogen means that an additional hydrogen bonding interaction is possible with an extra
binding region in the binding site.
d. Introducing a nitrogen removes an aromatic hydrogen. The aromatic hydrogen removed may have been bad
for activity for steric reasons.

Question 16. Which of the following symbols represents the concentration of a drug required to produce 50%
of a maximum possible effect?
a. IC50
b. Ki
c. Kd
*d. EC50
Question 17. Chlorpropamide has a longer antibiotic activity than tolbutamide.

Which of the following structures is the most likely metabolite of tolbutamide?

*a. Structure A.
b. Structure B.
c. Structure C.
d. Structure D.

Question 18. A lead compound contains a carboxylic acid functional group. This was esterified to give an
analogue with an ester group. In vitro tests showed that the carboxylic acid was active whereas the ester was
inactive. On the other hand, in vivo tests, where the test compounds were administered orally, showed that the
ester was active, and the carboxylic acid was inactive. Which of the following explanations is not plausible?
a. The carboxylic acid is not absorbed in the in vivo studies.
*b. The ester is an important binding group but the carboxylic acid group is not.
c. The ester is absorbed in the in vivo studies.
d. The ester is metabolised to the carboxylic acid in the in vivo studies.

Question 19. Which of the following properties of a drug is most likely to result in a minimum of side effects?
a. Good oral absorption.
b. Fast metabolism.
*c. Target selectivity.
d. Target affinity.
Question 20. What is meant by ADME in pharmacokinetics?
a. Affinity, dosage, marketing, efficacy.
*b. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion.
c. Agonism, dependence, mobility, efficiency.
d. Antagonism, deficiency, mean, efflux.
Question 21. Which of the following functional groups cannot be formed by a metabolic reaction catalysed
by cytochrome P450 enzymes?
*a. Ethers.
b. Ketones.
c. Alcohols.
d. Carboxylic acids.
Question 22. Which of the following is one of the rules in Lipinski's rule of five?
a. A molecular weight equal to 500.
*b. No more than five hydrogen bond donor groups.
c. No more than five hydrogen bond acceptor groups.
d. A calculated logP value more than +5.
Question 23. Which of the carbon atoms in the following structure is likely to be least susceptible to
cytochrome P450 enzymes?

a. Carbon A.
b. Carbon B.
*c. Carbon C.
d. Carbon D.

Question 24. It is common practice to vary the length and size of alkyl groups when making analogues of a lead
compound. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Replacing a straight chain alkyl group with a branched alkyl group may increase activity by filling up a
hydrophobic pocket and increasing hydrogen bonding interactions.
*b. Increasing the chain length or size of an alkyl group may increase target selectivity if a hydrophobic binding
region is more spacious in one binding site than another.
c. Increasing the chain length or size of an alkyl group increases activity and selectivity by stabilising the
analogue.
d. Increasing the chain length of an alkyl group may increase activity by leading to better van der Waals
interactions with a hydrophilic region of the binding site.

Question 25: Cisplatin is used for the treatment of testicular and ovarian cancers.
NH3

Cl
Pt
Cl

NH3

Which of the following statements is untrue?

a*. The amino groups are displaced before the drug becomes active.
b. Intrastrand cross linking of DNA results from the action of the agent.
c. Base pairing between cytosine and guanine is disrupted by the agent.
d. The agent often results in nausea.