|||Salmeterol: Optimizing an Asthma Drug Abstract: Asthma can be found in so many people around the world. Asthma has no prejudices; gender, race or country does not matter. Asthma affects a large percentage of the global population. Becoming aware of it is the first step. Now, using an existing drug, salmeterol, I want to optimize this drug to make it better by giving it different analogues, which will give it different properties. Using the latest technology in the chemistry lab, Gaussview and Gaussian 03W helped me model these analogs and optimize them.3 Imagine you are a cross country runner competing in the annual Mt. Sac CrossCountry Invitational. The finish line is just ahead and the crowd went wild with excitement. The best runner is slightly ahead of you and you decide to run the last fifty meters to the finish line, hoping to get first place. As you get closer to the finish line, you suddenly have difficulty breathing and your heartbeat becomes irregular. You quickly realize you're having an acute asthma attack and take out your inhaler. With a deep breath and a little huff you feel better. However, the time it takes to complete the process has cost you and you will have to settle for second place. Better luck next time! Asthma is a growing chronic condition in America and has had a major impact on Americans. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (1), approximately twenty million Americans suffer from asthma, half of which arise specifically from allergic asthma. With so many people affected by this condition, it is not surprising that in 2001, a quarter of all emergency room visits were caused by asthma. As a result, healthcare costs for asthma have skyrocketed and reached ten billion dollars per year. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to survive the effects of asthma, and approximately five thousand asthma-related deaths occur every year. Although the sole cause of asthma is unknown, there are several likely hypotheses as to why asthma may develop (7). Therefore, there is a need to spread awareness about asthma. Not only does a large portion of the American population suffer from this condition, but they don't even know how they got it. This led me to create a goal: optimize salmeterol, a drug used against asthma. Many, however, do not know what asthma is.4 To fully understand the concept of asthma, we must first analyze the system it affects: the respiratory system, which controls the inhalation and exhalation of air. Following the path of the air, it begins in the atmosphere and enters the body through

Topic > |||Salmeterol: Optimizing an Asthma Drug Abstract: Asthma can be found in so many people around the world. Asthma has no prejudices; gender, race or country does not matter. Asthma affects a large percentage of the global population. Becoming aware of it is the first step. Now, using an existing drug, salmeterol, I want to optimize this drug to make it better by giving it different analogues, which will give it different properties. Using the latest technology in the chemistry lab, Gaussview and Gaussian 03W helped me model these analogs and optimize them.3 Imagine you are a cross country runner competing in the annual Mt. Sac CrossCountry Invitational. The finish line is just ahead and the crowd went wild with excitement. The best runner is slightly ahead of you and you decide to run the last fifty meters to the finish line, hoping to get first place. As you get closer to the finish line, you suddenly have difficulty breathing and your heartbeat becomes irregular. You quickly realize you're having an acute asthma attack and take out your inhaler. With a deep breath and a little huff you feel better. However, the time it takes to complete the process has cost you and you will have to settle for second place. Better luck next time! Asthma is a growing chronic condition in America and has had a major impact on Americans. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (1), approximately twenty million Americans suffer from asthma, half of which arise specifically from allergic asthma. With so many people affected by this condition, it is not surprising that in 2001, a quarter of all emergency room visits were caused by asthma. As a result, healthcare costs for asthma have skyrocketed and reached ten billion dollars per year. Unfortunately, not everyone was able to survive the effects of asthma, and approximately five thousand asthma-related deaths occur every year. Although the sole cause of asthma is unknown, there are several likely hypotheses as to why asthma may develop (7). Therefore, there is a need to spread awareness about asthma. Not only does a large portion of the American population suffer from this condition, but they don't even know how they got it. This led me to create a goal: optimize salmeterol, a drug used against asthma. Many, however, do not know what asthma is.4 To fully understand the concept of asthma, we must first analyze the system it affects: the respiratory system, which controls the inhalation and exhalation of air. Following the path of the air, it begins in the atmosphere and enters the body through