Duration
86h Pr
Number of credits
| Bachelor in pharmacy | 6 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry laboratory sessions are designed to deepen your understanding of good analytical practices. In particular, you will learn how to correctly handle the equipment commonly used in an analytical laboratory, including analytical balances, precision balances, volumetric glassware, burettes, and other laboratory apparatus. Furthermore, these practical sessions aim to raise your awareness of quality assurance principles as well as the concept of measurement error.
The practical activities in Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry are organized into modules distributed across Semester 3 (CHIM0321-3) and Semester 4 (CHIM9333-1). Students are strongly encouraged to include both courses in the same study programme in order to fully benefit from the pedagogical framework and learning progression that have been designed.
Semester 3
Module 1: Good Laboratory Practices
During the first laboratory sessions, you will be required to qualify the glassware that will be used throughout your practical work. These sessions, which are initially non-assessed, will be organized in small groups to provide training in the proper handling of volumetric glassware, analytical balances, and precision balances.
As part of this first module, you will also be required to complete a series of mandatory prerequisite exercises available on the course platform. Completing these exercises may require a review of theoretical concepts previously covered in the General Chemistry course during the first year of the programme.
At the end of this training period, your practical skills will be assessed through the execution of a volumetric pipetting procedure and a simple laboratory experiment involving accurate weighing and quantitative transfer techniques.
Module 2: Absolute Methods
During the subsequent laboratory sessions, you will carry out various quantitative analyses using titrimetric and UV-Visible spectroscopic methods. Assessment of these practical exercises will be based on the quantitative results obtained, allowing the calculation of a percentage error relative to the expected value.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The overall objective of the Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry laboratory programme is to help students develop new competencies in good laboratory practices, while fostering rigor, autonomy, precision, and organizational skills through a series of practical activities.
This objective is reflected in the following learning outcomes:
Pharmaceutical Expertise
Students will be able to:
- Perform the calculations required to prepare solutions at a specified concentration (e.g., determination of the mass to be weighed for a given final volume, dilution calculations, buffer preparation, etc.).
- Understand the pharmaceutical applications of the raw materials handled during the laboratory sessions.
Students will be able to:
- Identify and record relevant experimental data in their laboratory notebook.
- Identify and record relevant data related to the qualification of glassware and laboratory equipment.
- Understand the role of reference standards and the implications of their use when preparing analytical solutions.
- Select appropriate laboratory equipment according to the analytical context and the information provided in the experimental procedure.
- Correctly implement a written experimental procedure.
- Collaborate effectively within a team by distributing and coordinating tasks efficiently.
- Generate quantitative analytical results from titration data or from specific absorbance measurements obtained by UV-Visible spectroscopy.
- Evaluate the accuracy of quantitative analytical results while taking potential sources of error into account.
Students will be able to:
- Communicate scientific results effectively in a laboratory report.
- Collaborate constructively with fellow students during laboratory sessions.
Students will be able to:
- Adopt a responsible approach to the use of reagents and solvents, ensuring that only the quantities required for the successful completion of the experiment are used.
- Maintain the cleanliness and proper functioning of analytical balances and precision balances.
- Demonstrate transparency and accountability by reporting any observed errors to the laboratory team.
Students will be able to:
- Understand and apply laboratory safety requirements and good analytical laboratory practices, particularly those related to the use of volumetric glassware and precision equipment.
- Understand and implement procedures for the qualification of volumetric glassware used in analytical laboratories.
- Explain the principles underlying the qualification of weighing equipment.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Before undertaking the Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry practical sessions, you are expected to have a solid background in chemistry and to have successfully completed the courses CHIM0748-3 and CHIM9326-1.
The course in Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry (Part I, CHIM0320-3) is a co-requisite.
Whenever possible, students are strongly advised to include both the course and its associated laboratory sessions in the same cursus, in order to fully benefit from the pedagogical sequencing and learning framework that have been established
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The learning activities of these practical sessions will be organized as follows:
In addition to the laboratory work, several courses will be held in amphitheater. These sessions provide explanations tailored to the different laboratory sessions, offer the necessary clarifications for their proper execution, review the various protocols, highlight the key steps, and guide you toward obtaining the expected results.
Two exercise seminars are also scheduled.
The timetable for all these activities is available in Celcat.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Practical work are organized in the student laboratory of the Pharmacy Department (CHU, Tower 4, +4 level)
The attendance at practical work and associated activities (seminars, explanations,...) is compulsory. Any absence must be notified by a email just before the course or practical work and justified by sending an official document legally recognized in its country of issue to Dr. De Bleye (cdebleye@uliege.be) and Madam Saker (b.saker@uliege.be) in 24h.
An attendance à 80% of all activities is compulsory to attend to the examen in first and second session.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
All the course materials (manuel of practical work and powerpoint) are available in the plateform eCampus.
You can also find in this plateform:
- A graphic syllabys to visualise the organisation of all activities.
- A program with the different activites
- Complementary supports (qualification sheets...)
- Videos to illustrate some specific manipulations
- Some tests
- Template of reports
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Out-of-session test(s)
Further information:
Written work / report
Out-of-session test(s)
Other : Practical test, out of session, including the writing of a report
Further information:
The assessment is distributed as follows:
Laboratory work: 50% of the overall grade
- The first assessment focuses on simple analytical manipulations (volumetric pipetting, quantitative transfer).
- The second assessment concerns titrations. The quality of the manipulation is evaluated based on a percentage of error (calculated with respect to the expected value) and an adapted evaluation grid.
- Three tests are scheduled, directly linked to the prerequisites, the exercises carried out during the seminars, and the laboratory manipulations.
- First session: The exam begins with a test similar to those given during the year. You then draw lots for a manipulation, which is evaluated according to the same criteria used during the semester. You are allowed to use your personal laboratory notebook (checked by the teaching assistant prior to the exam) and will receive a simplified protocol without equations or explanations. At the end of the exam, you must submit a handwritten report comparable to those produced during the semester, with particular attention to the preparation of the solutions required for the manipulation (calculation of masses to be weighed based on the equation and concentrations, reference substance, calibration). Any calculation error in the report is not corrected by the assistant; your result is directly used for evaluation.
- The modalities remain the same as in the first session, but the weighting differs: the test represents 25% and the manipulation 75% of the grade. The marks obtained during the semester are not carried over; the final grade is based solely on the second session exam
Work placement(s)
n/a
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
A graphical syllabus enabling to visualize the global organisation of the practical works is available in the eCampus plateform.
Contacts
Charlotte De Bleye, 1ère Assistante
Service de Chimie Analytique Pharmaceutique, Département de Pharmacie, CHU Bât. B36, Quartier Hôpital,avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège 1
Tél : +32 4 366.43.18
e-mail : cdebleye@uliege.be
Beyza Saker, Assistante
Service de Chimie Analytique Pharmaceutique, Département de Pharmacie, CHU Bât. B36, Quartier Hôpital,avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège 1
e-mail : b.saker@uliege.be
Sébastien Lhoest, Technicien
Service de Chimie Analytique Pharmaceutique, Département de Pharmacie, CHU Bât. B36, Quartier Hôpital,avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège 1
e-mail: slhoest@uliege.be
Eric Ziemons, Chargé de cours
SService de Chimie Analytique Pharmaceutique, Département de Pharmacie, CHU Bât. B36, Quartier Hôpital,avenue Hippocrate 15, 4000 Liège 1
Tel. : 04/366.43.16
e-mail: eziemons@uliege.be
You are welcome to ask questions during the practical sessions. If necessary, you may reach out to Dr. Charlotte De Bleye by email or phone to arrange a meeting.