About the Department

The department was established in 1976 and has two major components namely Pharmacology and Environmental Toxicology. The Department of Pharmacology & Environmental Toxicology offers M.Sc.  Toxicology, M.D.Pharmacology, M,Phil. Environmental Toxicology, M,Phil. Neuro and Nanotoxicology and Ph.D. programmes. As a research Department it has been recognized by UGC as a UGC- SAP- DRS-phase II with the thrust areas 1 & 2 as follows: Pharmacology of Indian medicinal plants and traditional medicinal preparations and Toxicology of Environmental pollutants. The department is also being funded under DST-FIST programme. The projects of the Department include funding by DBT, UGC and DST. The faculty member’s carryout intensive research in: Experimental pharmacology, Phytopharmacology, Traditional medicine formulations, Immuno-pharmacology and toxicology, Neuropharmacology and toxicology, Cardiovascular pharmacology, Aquatic toxicology, Food toxicology, Environmental toxicology and Pesticide toxicology. The expertise and facilities can be used for screening of pharmacological as well as toxicological profile of drugs and medicinal plants as well as toxicological evaluation of specific environmental pollutants. The department has the sophisticated analytical equipments such as Florescence spectrophotometer, GC-MS, high pressure liquid chromatography, UV visible spectrophotometer, electrophoresis unit, soft laser screening densitometer, refrigerated centrifuge, thin layer chromatography system and tissue culture facility. In vitro and in vivo pharmacological/toxicological screening equipments include Polygraph, tissue bath set-up, physiograph and electro cardio graph. Rota-rod, actophotometer, analgesio meter, Heb’s William maze are available for behavioural screening.  Thermo cyclers, Co₂ incubator for Tissue culture facility, Millicell, as well as Basic equipments such as pH meter, electronic balances, Microscopes, Liquid nitrogen cylinder etc are available.

            A “National Centre for Neurotoxicity research to assist drug development” has been established by Prof. S.L.Maheswari at the Department of Pharmacology & Environmental Toxicology  funded by DST-DPRP-TDT, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. Under this Centre, M.Phil., Neuro and nanotoxicology is being offered to train Manpower and capacity building especially in the focused area of Neuro and nanotoxicology. The State of art equipments like UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Transmission Electron microscope of 120 KV, Electrophoresis and Western blot units, Biorad dry transfer system, Ultra pure water system, ultra microtome and auto cut   microtome, wax embedding station, tissue processor, EM tissue processor, Florescence- Phase contrast-Bright field microscope, multimode reader, HPLC with UV, Fluorescence, EC and Refractive index detectors, ultracentrifuge, Microwave digestion system, liquid scintillation counter,  ICP-MS, Focus Gas Chromatography, Deep freezers (-85° C and-20° C,) Ultra sonicator, ultrasonic washer, water baths, Rotary evaporator, Soxhslet apparatus, hot air oven, incubator, chiller, Electronic balances, pH meters, extraction units, Ice flake machine, Computer aided Equipments for behavior assessment etc. are also available .  

Infrastructure and Learning resources:

• Information and Communication tools for learning: Internet browsing facility for students and scholars. LCD and live demonstration/document reader facility.
• Other Facilities: Xerox facility
• Instrument facilities: HPLC, CO2 incubator, micro ultra centrifuge, fluorescence spectrophotometer, vertical and inverted microscopes, PCR thermocycler etc.

Endowments

Maharaja of Travancore Curzon Endowment - It was founded by His Highness of Travancore in memory of the visit of Lord Curzon, Viceroy and Governor-General of India to the State of Travancore in November 1900 and to encourage post-graduate studies mainly in scientific subjects bearing on the material proposperity of India. The endownment was accepted by the Senate of University of Madras and at present consists of Rs.50,300/- in the form of Government securities. Dept. Special Recognition:

• UGC-SAP-DRS-I from April, 2004
• DST-FIST-LEVEL-I - from April, 2005
• Ministry of Health Sciences - for marine environmental toxicology - from 2002

• Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Adyar, Chennai.
• Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Adyar, Chennai
• IGCAR, Kalpakkam.
• Tamil Nadu Forensic Sciences Department, Chennai.
• ICMAM-PD, DOD, NIOT, Chennai,
• King Institute, Chennai.
• NIMHANS, Bangalore
• National Institute for Physiological Sciences - Okazaki,. Japan.

• 150 books on Pharmacology, Toxicology and related disciplines