Pattern & Syllabus

Syllabus for GPAT 2022

The syllabus for GPAT 2022 is about the lessons to be learnt while preparing for GPAT 2022 exam. The questions from the syllabus would be asked in the exam. The topics to be studied for the exam are pharmacy lessons taught at bachelors level in recognised institutions located across the country.

Some of the topics to be studied are Pharmaceutical Chemistry,  Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology and others. The topics to be learnt are given below for the sake of the students:

Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry

• Pharmaceutical Impurities: Impurities in pharmaceutical substances, sources, types & effects of impurities. Limit tests for heavy metals like lead, iron, arsenic, mercury & for chloride & sulphate as per Indian Pharmacopoeia [I. P.].
• • Monographs: Monograph & its importance, various tests included in monographs as per I. P. A study of the following compounds with respect to their methods of preparation, assay, & pharmaceutical uses of sodium citrate, calcium carbonate, copper sulphate, light & heavy kaolin, ammonium chloride & ferrous gluconate.
  • Isotopes: Isotopes- stable & radioactive, mode & rate of decay. Types & measurement of radioactivity. Radiopharmaceuticals & their diagnostic & therapeutic applications in pharmacy & medicine such as 125I, 32P, 51Cr, 60Co, 59Fe, 99Tc-M. Radiocontrast media, use of BaSO4 in medicine.
  • Dentifrices, desensitizing agents, & anticaries agents

Pharmaceutics

• Pharmacy Profession & Introduction to Pharmaceuticals: Pharmacy as a career, evaluation of Pharmacy, earlier period middle to modern ages. Definition, importance of pharmaceuticals, areas concerned, scope of Pharmaceutics, history and development of the profession of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical industry in India. A brief review of present Indian Pharma. Industry in global perspective.
• Introduction to dosage form: Definition of the drug. New drug and dosage form. The desirable properties of a dosage form, the need of dosage form. Ideas about the available type of dosage forms and new drug delivery system.
• Sources of drug information: Introduction to Pharmacopoeia with reference to IP, BP, USP and International Pharmacopeia. Study of structure/features (index) general notice and compartment of monographs of excipients, drug and drug product. Other sources. Textbooks, journals, internet (drug information system, online database, patient/ consumer information and non- print material. Classification of information, primary, secondary and tertiary. Nomenclature of the drug.
• Allopathic dosage form Merits/demerits, importance, formulation development - vehicles/excipients with examples for the dosage form: liquid dosage form: monophasic liquid dosage form. Aromatic waters, syrup, elixir, linctus, lotion, liniment, glycerites, solutions, spirits, ENT preparations, mixtures, paints, mouthwash.
• Crude extract: Infusion, decoction, maceration, percolation, tincture and extract. Methods of preparations of dry, soft and liquid extract.
• Allergenic extract: Types of allergens, preparation of extract, testing and standardization of extracts.
• Biological products: Absorbable and non-absorbable material types, sutures and ligatures, processing, manufacturing, sterilization, packing, QC tests of materials like catgut and nylon.
• Pharmaceutical Plant, location, layout: Plant location and layout of an industry. Various factors affecting locational aspects of chemical and pharmaceutical plants. The layout of plant building and importance of flow sheet, the difference between scientific process and technological process, the layout of various departments, equipment, and product layout v/s process layout.
• Dosage Form Necessities and Additives: Antioxidants, preservatives, coloring agents, flavoring agents and diluting agents, emulsifying agents, suspending agents, ointment bases, solvents, and others.
• Powders: Advantages and limitations as dosage form, manufacturing procedure and equipment, special care and problems in manufacturing powders, powders of IP, effervescent granules and salts.
• Capsules: Hard gelatin capsules, shell formulation and manufacturing, capsule sizes, storage, filing, cleaning process general formulation contents and evaluation. Soft gelatin capsules, shell formulation, formulation contents, filing, sealing and storage. Microencapsulation, advantages, encapsulation materials, methods of microencapsulation, I.P. formulations
• Tablets: Types, ideal requirement, classification, granulation methods, general formulation, compression machines, different types of tooling’s, difficulties in tableting, troubleshooting aspects, evaluation, sugar coating, compression coating, film coating, problems in tablet coatings and their troubleshooting aspects. IP formulations.
• Parenterals - product requiring sterile packaging: Definition, types advantages and limitations, general formulation, vehicles, production procedure, production facilities, controls, tests, selected IP injections, sterile powders, implants, emulsions, suspensions.
• Suspensions: Formulation of deflocculated and flocculated suspension, manufacturing procedure, evaluation methods, IP suspensions.
• Emulsions: Types, emulsifying agents, general formulation, manufacturing procedure, evaluation methods, IP emulsions.
• Suppositories: Ideal requirements, bases, manufacturing procedure, evaluation methods, IP products.
• Semisolids: Definitions, bases, general formulation, manufacturing procedure, evaluation methods, IP products.
• Liquids(solutions, syrups, elixirs, spirits, aromatic water, liquid for external uses): Definition, types, general formulation, manufacturing procedure, evaluation methods, IP products.
• Pharmaceutical Aerosols: Definition, propellants, general formulation, manufacturing and packaging methods, pharmaceutical applications. Impacts of propellants on the environment.
• Ophthalmic preparations: Requirement, formulation, methods of preparation, containers, evaluation, IP products.
• Preformulations: Consideration of Importance, physical properties, physical forms, particle size, crystal forms, bulk control, solubility, wetting, flow cohesiveness, compressibility, organoleptic properties and its effect on final product consideration of Chemical properties, hydrolysis, oxidation, recemization, polymerization, isomerization, decarboxylation, enzymatic decomposition, formulation additives, stabilizers, suspending and dispersing agents dyes, solid excipients etc. and its effect on quality of finished product.
• Stability of formulated products: Requirements, drug regulatory aspects, pharmaceutical products stability, shelf life, overages, containers, closures. Reaction rate and order, acid-base catalysis, destabilization and accelerated stability testing.
• Prolonged Action Pharmaceuticals: Benefits, limitations, oral products, terminology, drug elimination rate, types and construction of implants products, product evaluation, parenteral products, absorption and evaluation.
• Novel Drug delivery system: Critical fluid technology, transdermal drug delivery system, controlled drug delivery system, multiple emulsion, nanoparticles, targeted drug delivery system, aerosols, inhalation & new products reported etc.
• GMP and Validation: Introduction to GMP, QC and QA. Concept and need of good manufacturing practice guidelines. Elements of GMP covering controls of area and processes and product. Regulations related to GMP. Introduction of the validation process. Types of validation. The brief methodology of process, equipment and instrument validation.
• Packaging Materials: Role and features of Pharmaceutical packing materials. Glass, plastic, rubber, metal and paper as pharmaceutical packaging material. General quality control of pharmaceutical packages. Primary, secondary and tertiary packaging materials. Child resistant and pilfer-proof packaging.
• Cosmetics: Formulation and preparation of dentifrices, hair creams, lipsticks, face powders, shaving preparations, skin creams, shampoos, hair dyes, depilatories, manicure preparations etc.
• Pilot plant scale-up techniques: Need, organization and layout, scale-up techniques for solid and liquid dosage forms. Technology transfer.

Pharmacognosy

• Introductory Pharmacognosy; Historical development, modern concept and scope of Pharmacognosy. The significance of Pharmacognosy in various systems of medicine practiced in India viz: Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathic and Siddha.
• Classification of crude drugs: Based on alphabetical, morphological, pharmacological, chemical, taxonomical and chemotaxonomic methods: organized and unorganized drugs: official and unofficial drugs. Plants, animals and minerals: marine products: plant tissue culture.
• Factors influencing quality of crude drugs: Exogenous factors: temperature, rainfall, daylight, altitude and soil. Endogenous factors: Mutation, polyploidy, & hybridization in medicinal plants. Production factors including collection, drying, storage and transport methods. Study of morphological and histological characters of crude drugs, Ergastic cell inclusions, anatomical structures of both monocot and dicot stems, leaves and roots: barks, fruits and seeds.
• Techniques in microscopy: Details of mountants, clearing agents, chemomicroscopic (microchemical) reagents.
• Introduction to phytoconstituents: Definition, classification, chemical tests and pharmaceutical importance of: carbohydrates and their derivatives, fats and proteins, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, tannins, resins, lipids and volatile oils.
• Principles of plant classification: Diagnostic features and medicinal significance of important plants with special reference to:
  • Algae: Rhodophyceae (Agar, Alginic acid, Diatoms).
  • Fungi: Ergot, Yeast and penicillium.
  • Gymnosperm: Pinaceae (Turpentine, Colophony), Gnetaceae (Ephedra).
  • Angiosperm: Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Solanaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Leguminosae, Papaveraceae, Acanthaceae and Apiaceae.
  • Pteridophytes: Male fern.
• Pharmaceutical aids: Biological sources, chemical constituents, adulterants and uses of: Starches, acacia gum, tragacanth, sterculia, guar gum, pectin, arachis oil, castor oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, cotton, silk, wool, regenerated fibers, asbestos, kaolin, prepared chalk, kieselguhr.
• Animal products: Biological sources, chemical constituents, adulterants and uses of: Shellac, cochineal, cantharides, woolfat, lard, beeswax, honey, musk, lanolin, gelatin.
• Plant products: Introduction to plant bitters, sweeteners, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals and photosensitizing agents.
• Toxic drugs: Study of allergens, hallucinogens, narcotics.
• Enzymes: Biological sources, preparation, characters, and uses of: diastase, papain bromelain, ficin, yeast, pancreatin, urokinase, pepsin, trypsin, penicillinase, hyaluronidase and streptokinase.
• Natural pesticides and insecticides: Introduction to herbicides, fungicides, fumigants and rodenticides tobacco, pyrethrum, & neem.
• Adulteration and evaluation of crude drugs: Different methods of adulteration: Evaluation of drugs by organoleptic, microscopic, physical, chemical and biological methods. Deterioration of herbal drugs by insects.
• Quantitative microscopy: Definition and determination of stomatal index, stomatal number, palisade ratio, vein islet number, vein termination number, lycopodium spore method. Micrometers and measurement of microscopic characters.
• Biogenetic pathways: Formation of primary and secondary metabolites. Study of Calvin cycle, TCA cycle, Shikimic acid pathway, Embden-Mayerhoff pathway, acetate hypothesis, isoprenoid pathway. Biosynthesis of carbohydrates, lipids and volatile oils.
• Carbohydrates & lipids: Biological sources, salient morphological features, chemical constituents, and uses of: Plantago, bael, chaulmoogra oil, neem oil, shark liver oil, cod liver oil, guggul lipids.
• Tannins: Biological sources, morphology, chemical constituents, chemical test and uses of: Pale catechu, black catechu, nutgalls, Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia arjuna.
• Volatile oils: Biological sources, morphology, chemical constituents, adulterants and uses of: Black pepper, turpentine, mentha, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cassia, lemon peel, orange peel, lemongrass, citronella, cumin, caraway, dill, spearmint, clove, anise, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, eucalyptus, chenopodium, ajowan, sandalwood.
• Resinous drugs: Classification, formation, sources, chemical constituents, identification test, adulterants and uses of: benzoin, Peru balsam, tolu balsam, colophony, myrrh, asafoetida, jalap, colocynth, ginger, turmeric, capsicum, cannabis, podophyllum.
• Glycosides: Nature and classification. Biological sources, morphology, chemical constituents, adulterants and uses of: Digitalis, strophanthus, squill, thevetia, oleander, cascara, aloe, rhubarb, senna, quassia, dioscorea, quillaia, glycyrrhiza, ginseng, gentian, wild cherry, withania, bitter almond. Biosynthesis of cardiac and anthraquinone glycosides.
• Alkaloids: Nature, classification, biological sources, morphology, chemical constituents, adulterants and uses of: Areca nut, belladonna, hyoscymous, stramonium, duboisea, coca, coffee, tea, cinchona, opium, ipecac, nux vomica, ergot, rauwolfia, vinca, kurchi, ephedra, colchicum, vasaca, pilocarpus, aconite, Solanum xanthocarpum. Biosynthesis of tropane, cinchona and opium alkaloids.
• Extraction and Isolation Techniques: General methods used for the extraction, isolation and identification of alkaloids, lipids, glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, volatile oils and resins. Application of column, paper and thin layer chromatographic techniques, for the isolation of phytopharmaceuticals.
• Phytopharmaceuticals: Isolation, identification and estimation of: caffeine, eugenol, digoxin, piperine, tannic acid, diosgenin, hesperidin, berberine, calcium sennosides, rutin, glycyrrhizin, menthol, ephedrine, quinine, andrographolides and guggul lipids.
• Quality control and Standardization of herbal drugs: Quality control of herbal drugs as per WHO, AYUSH and Pharmacopoeial guidelines-Extractive values, ash values, chromatographic techniques (TLC, HPTLC and HPLC) for determination of chromatographic markers. Determination of heavy metals, insecticides, pesticides and microbial load in herbal preparations.
• Herbal formulations: Principals involved in Ayurveda, Sidha, Unani, Chinese and Homeopathic systems of medicines. Preparation of Ayurvedic formulations like aristas, asava, ghutika, tailia, churna, avaleha, ghrita and bhasmas: Unani formulations like majooms, Safoofs. Determination of alcohol contents in arishtas & asavas.
• Worldwide trade of crude drugs and volatile oils: Study of drugs having high commercial value and their regulations pertaining to trade.
• Herbal cosmetics: Importance of herbals as shampoos (soapnut), conditioners and hair darkeners, (amla, henna, hibiscus, tea), skin care (aloe, turmeric, lemon peel, vetiver).
• Traditional herbal drugs: Common names, sources, morphology, active constituents and uses (traditional, folklore), pharmacological and clinical uses of: punarnava (Boerhaviadiffusa), shankhpushpi (Convolvulus microphylla), lehsun (Allium sativum), guggul (Commiphora mukul), kalmegh (Andrographis peniculata), tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), valerian (Valerian officinalis), artemisia (Artemisia annua), chirata (Swertia chirata), ashoka (Saraca indica).
• Plants based industries and research institutes in India: Knowledge about the herbal products being manufactured by premier herbal industries and thrust area of the institutes involved in plant research.
• Patents: Indian and International patent laws, proposed amendments as applicable to herbal/natural products and processes: Intellectual Property Rights with special reference to phytoconstituents.
• Ayurvedic system of medicine: Theory, basic concept, diagnosis, various branches of treatment in ayurveda, types of the drug formulation in Ayurveda and important Ayurvedic drugs and their uses, formulation of asavas, arishtas, watika, churna, tailas, ghruta, lep.
• Homeopathic system of medicine: Theory, basic concept, diagnosis, treatment, source of homeopathic medicines and important homeopathic drugs and their uses

Pharmacology

• General pharmacology
• Nerohumoral transmission in autonomic and central nervous system
• Pharmacology of peripheral nervous system
• Pharmacology of central nervous system
• Pharmacology of cardiovascular system
• Drugs acting on urinary system
• Drugs acting on respiratory system
• Pharmacology of endocrine system
• Chemotherapy
• Autacoids and their antagonists
• Pharmacology of drug acting on the gastrointestinal tract
• Chronopharmacology
• Immunopharmacology
• Vitamins and minerals
• Principles of toxicology

Pharmaceutical Chemistry

• Pharmaceutical inorganic chemistry
• Medicinal chemistry