Drug Delivery Flashcards
Name seven ways of administering drugs
Tablets Solutions/suspensions Ointments/creams Inhalations Injections Suppositories Pessaries
What three aspects are considered when thinking about which drug delivery to use?
Dose of drug to be given
Frequency of administration
Timing of administration
What needs to be considered when choosing a drug delivery system about the patient?
Impaired renal function
Impaired hepatic function
Age and weight
Disease to be treated
How are solutions and suspensions administered? What are some advantages of this?
Given by a mason-gastric tube or PEG tube.
Rapid and useful for patients with dysphasia.
What are some problems with prolonged or delayed release formulas of tablets?
If there is a GI problem such as diarrhoea the tablet will go straight through and there will be no effect or toxicity might build up if it sits too long.
It is very brand specific so if a patient comes to hospital and doesn’t have the specific brand they could potentially become toxic if they are changed to another brand.
What are prodrugs and what are the advantages of them?
They are inactive forms of drugs which need to be metabolically activated after administration.
They prolong the duration of action.
They avoid degradation in the gut.
What kind of drugs are usually administered buccal or sublingually?
Drugs that have extensive pre-systemic or first pass metabolism.
What are some advantages of administering drugs rectally?
Useful in patients that can’t swallow.
Treats locally and systemically.
Bypass pre-systemic metabolism.
What three reasons are drugs administered by IV for?
Need rapid onset of action
Need careful control of plasma
If a drug has a short half life
When should you not give a patient an intramuscular injection?
If they have clotting as it can cause tearing of the muscle and the patient could get a haematoma.
How is insulin administered for diabetics?
Subcutaneously
How do monoclonal antibodies work in drug delivery?
They act directly on cancer specific antigen so the immune system can act against it and now can be modified to deliver toxins or cytokines. Let’s specific cancer cells be targeted without a systemic effect.
What are three nanocarriers and what are some advantages of nanoparticle delivery?
Nanoparticles, nanotubules and nanoshells
Allows more specific drug targeting and delivery
Reduction in toxicity but still have therapeutic efficiency
What is genetic transfer system?
Using a virus to carry missing or needed gene to a cell.
