Drug Delivery Hyp2 Flashcards
What are the four factors important for shelf life and stability?
- Drug content remains above specified level
2.No accumulation of degradation products that could
represent a risk to patient
3.Physical characteristics remain suitable - Biological and microbiological stability critical for sterile products
What are the three common chemical routes of degradation?
- Hydrolysis
- Oxidation
- Photolysis
What factors can increase the rate of hydrolysis?
Heat, light , trace metals
What is the shape of the rate reaction of reaction curve for hydrolysis and why?
U- shaped, due to it being catalysed by acids and bases
Which ones, out of esters and amides, are less susceptible to hydrolysis and why?
Give an exception to this:
Amides are less because N less electronegative than O
Lactams are less stable than esters due to ring strain
What is the difference between proteolysis and deamidation?
Proteolysis is the breaking of amide bonds in backbone
Deamidation is the breaking of amide bonds in Gln, Asn
What are five strategies to reduce the chance of hydrolysis?
Solid or suspension instead of solution formulation
Buffers to ensure optimal pH
Reduced solvent polarity (e.g. ethanol or polypropylene glycol added to water)
Low temperature storage
Packaging to exclude humidity
What is oxidation?
The loss of electrons to an oxidizing agent
What happens to organic compounds when they are oxidised?
The molecule gains oxygen, loses hydrogen
Which compounds are commonly oxidised?
Alcohols, amines, thiols, thioethers, compounds with multiple bonds
What are thiols/ thioethers,
They have an S rather than an O
What are five factors oxidation is influenced by?
exposure to oxygen (or other oxidizing agents) exposure to light trace metals (catalysis) temperature (less than hydrolysis) free radicals
What is a free radical?
An atom or molecule with an unpaired electron (A•)
What are the stages of reaction with free radicals?
- Initiation stage- bond breaks to make a free radical
- Propagation stage- Free radical reactions with a paired radical to give a different free radical and paired radical
- Termination- Two free radicals pair up
What are four strategies to reduce oxidation?
- Antioxidants are compounds that are oxidised more easily than the drug or that form relatively stable free radicals (e.g.ascorbic acid)
- Chelating agents form complexes with trace metals and prevent their catalytic activity (e.g. ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid – EDTA)
- Low pH can stabilise liquid formulations
- Packaging in inert atmosphere, light excluded
What is photolysis?
Chemical degradation induced by exposure to light and the absorption of photons
What excipient can catalyse the photodegradation of a drug?
Titanium dioxide
What are two ways to decrease photodegradation?
Packaging to reduce exposure to light (e.g. amber glass containers, aluminium foil blister packs, external cardboard container)
Temperature has only a small influence on the rate of photolysis reactions
What are three other types of degradation and describe what they are:
- Isomeric changes- Geometrical isomers (cis/trans, e.g. retinol)
- Chiral centres - Reduction- the molecule gains electrons, gains hydrogen or loses oxygen
- Dimerization and polymerization: the molecule reacts with another molecule of the same kind
What does ADME stand for?
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
What is absorption?
The process of getting the drug from the delivery site to the bloodstream
What is distribution?
A description of where in the body the drug goes to after administration and absorption
What is metabolism?
How the body chemically changes foreign compounds so that they can be more easily removed from the body
What is excretion?
How the body removes drugs or metabolites, also called elimination
What is the Therapeutic Window?
As the drug exposure increases, the more adverse the effects. In the therapeutic window, this is where the drug has the best/ safest effect.
What are the types of testing occurring in the industrial perspective?
Pre- clinical testing: - In vitro and animal testing Clinical (human) testing: - Phase 1 - Phase 2 - Phase 3
Name six sites of where drugs can be tested from the body:
- blood plasma
- blood serum
- whole blood
- breath
- milk
- urine
How is blood plasma separated to find the drug concentration in the blood?
Whole blood is centrifuged after adding an anticoagulant. Cells are precipitated. The supernatant fluid, contains proteins that often bind drugs. The concentration in plasma comprises bound and unbound drugs.