THE ROLE OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN MEDICINE: MODERN CLINICAL RELEVANCE AND INNOVATIVE DIRECTIONS

Organic chemistry is one of the fundamental scientific bases of modern medicine because most therapeutic agents, diagnostic probes, antiseptics, anesthetics, vitamins, hormones, and many biomaterials are organic compounds or are designed through organic-chemical principles. The relevance of this topic has increased in recent years because medicine now requires safer drugs, targeted delivery systems, rapid diagnostics, antimicrobial innovation, and personalized pharmacotherapy. The World Health Organization lists hundreds of essential medicines, and many of them are small organic molecules or organic-derived therapeutic agents used in daily clinical practice [1]. At the same time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 50 novel drugs in 2024, showing that chemical innovation remains a major driver of medical progress [2]. This article analyzes the role of organic chemistry in medicine through a narrative review of scientific and regulatory sources. The article focuses on drug discovery, structure-activity relationships, stereochemistry, pharmacokinetics, formulation, antimicrobial resistance, and precision medicine. The findings show that organic chemistry is not an isolated theoretical discipline; it is a practical language through which disease mechanisms are translated into molecular solutions. The article concludes that medical education should strengthen the integration of organic chemistry with pharmacology, biochemistry, toxicology, and clinical thinking.