IV Uptake and Distribution Flashcards
Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion describe: (pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics)?
Pharmacokinetics
In very general terms, pharmacokinetics is basically:
What the body does to a drug
Mechanism of effect, sensitivity, and responsiveness describe: (pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics)?
Pharmacodynamics
In very general terms, pharmacodynamics is basically:
What a drug does to the body
What are the 4 commonly measured pharmacokinetic parameters of injected drugs?
- Elimination half-time
- Bioavailability
- Clearance
- Volume of distribution
What is meant by the compartmental model?
The body is divided into compartments that represent theoretical spaces with calculated volumes.
The body is divided into __ compartments. The _____ and the ______ compartment.
2; central and peripheral
Once in the body, a drug will follow one of 3 paths, they are:
- It will remain in the vascular system, body water
- Bind to proteins (drug is inactive if bound)
- Cross membranes and enter tissues
Where does unbound drug go?
it enters organs, muscles, and fat and most importantly: acts at the receptor site.
The transfer of drug to various sites depends on:
The intrinsic factors of the drug.
What is meant by intrinsic factors when describing a drug?
molecular size, degree of ionization, lipid solubility and protein binding
What 2 factors affect uptake of a drug?
- The amount of blood flow to a tissue
- The concentration gradient across the membrane
What does a drugs molecular size have to do with crossing membranes?
the smaller the particle, the better it moves across the lipid bilayer.
Molecular weights greater than ________ do not cross the cell membrane.
100-200
Molecules cross membranes by _______ or _______ transport.
active or passive
Name 4 characteristics of active transport.
- it requires energy
- it’s faster than passive
- uses carriers to form complexes
- can move against a concentration gradient
Passive transport moves molecules from areas of _______ concentration to _________ concentration via _____________ or ___________.
from higher concentration to lower via water channels or straight through the lipid bilayer
Many drugs are either weak _______ or ________ and may be charged at physiological pH.
acids or bases
Ionized drug molecules are _______
charged
Nonionized drug molecules are _________
uncharged
Ionized drug molecules are _______ soluble and unable to _____________________.
water soluble and unable to cross cell membranes easily
Charges on the molecule of the drug are repelled by _____________, and therefore, cannot cross into cells.
sections of the cell membrane with similar charge
The higher the degree of ionization of a drug, the ________ (more or less) able the drug is to cross into the tissues.
Less ability to cross into tissues like the GI tract, blood-brain barrier, placental barrier and liver hepatocytes
Are ionized drugs absorbed well orally?
No
How are ionized drugs excreted?
by the kidney. They are not metabolized by the liver
Non-ionized drugs are ____________.
lipophilic
Because non-ionized drugs are lipophilic, they can:
cross the lipid bilayer. They easily enter the blood-brain barrier, the GI tract and the placenta
How is the degree of ionization determined?
by the disassociation constant (pKa) and by the pH gradient across the membrane.
When the pH is equal to the Pka, what kind of charge can we expect on the molecule?
There will be equal parts of charged and uncharged forms.
An acidic compound is charged when it is in its (protonated/ unprotonated) form.
unprotonated. Remember, acids are proton donors and become charged when they give up a proton.
A basic compound is charged when it is in its (protonated/ unprotonated) form.
Protonated. Remember, bases are proton acceptors.
The ionized form a drug (will/ will not) cross the cell membrane.
will not
The more (ionized/ unionized) a drug is the more active it is.
unionized
The higher the ratio of ionized to unionized drug, the (slower/ faster) the compound is to cross into tissues and exert its effect.
slower
When considering the ratio of ionized to unionized drug in the body, does the ionized form stay in the ionized form?
No, once the unionized form has moved across the cell membrane into cells, there will be an imbalance in the ionized: unionized ratio in the blood, so more ionized will convert to unionized to maintain the same UP/P ratio for the pH of the solution they are in.
Because ionized drug will eventually convert to unionized, we can assume what about the drug absorption?
That eventually the drug will be absorbed.
Challenge: Procaine has a pKa of 8.9. What does this tell us about the absorption of procaine.
- Compare procaine’s pKa to the pH of blood
pH = pKa + log UP/ P
- 4 = 8.9 + log UP/P
- 1.5 = log UP/P (antilog -1.5)
= 0.032 UP/P
this means there are 32 unprotonated molecules of procaine for every 1000 protonated. As the 32 unprotonated move into the cell, some of the protonated will convert to make the 32:1000 ratio again. This is going to be a long slow process, which is why procaine has a slow onset of action.
When the pKa is close to the pH, only ______ changes in pH are needed to create significant changes in the ionized: unionized ratio.
slight
For weak bases, if the pKa < pH, which form predominates (ionized/ unionized)?
unionized predominates
For weak bases, if the pH is equal to the pKa, which form predominates (ionized/ unionized)?
they will exist in equal parts.
For weak bases, if the pKa is > pH, which form predominates (ionized/ unionized)?
ionized form predominates
Most of the drugs we use in anesthesia are ______ (acids/ bases), except for _________ which are (acids/ bases).
we use basic drugs, except for barbiturates which are acids.
For weak acids, if the pKa < pH, which form predominates, the ionized, or the unionized?
ionized form predominates
For weak acids, if the pKa is equal to the pH, which form predominates, the ionized or the unionized?
they will exist in equal parts.
For weak acids, if the pKa is > the pH, which form predominates, the ionized or the unionized?
unionized form predominates.
If you have a basic drug, with a pKa of 7.2, and you place it in a pH of 7.4, will it be more ionized or unionized?
It is going to be more unionized because you are placing it in a basic medium compared to its pKa.
What is ion trapping?
Ion trapping occurs when there are 2 different pH values across a membrane (ex. placenta). The drug may exist in the ionized form on one side the membrane but can exist in an unionized form on the other side. This can cause a situation where the ionized form just sits, trapped.
Ion trapping influences what 3 things?
- oral absorption of drugs
- maternal- fetal transfer
- central nervous system toxicity of local anesthetics.
To enter a cell and cross the hydrophobic but lipophilic lipid bilayer, a drug must be at least partially _________ _______.
lipid soluble
If a drug is too lipid soluble, what will happen to it as it crosses the cell membrane?
It will not be able to move out of the membrane into the cell.
What is the oil to water partition coefficient?
It is the ratio of a drugs lipid solubility to water solubility at equilibrium. It is based on the concentration of the agent in each component, the water vs. the oil.
Why do we care what a drug’s water to oil partition coefficient is?
It is a predictor of how well a drug will cross a membrane and get to the target tissue.
The larger the value of the water-oil partition co-efficient, the ________ the lipid solubility of the drug.
greater
Some drugs will cross the membrane regardless of the oil-water partitiion coefficient, how do they cross?
By a receptor protein that will carry it
How do we get charged amino acids across our cell membranes?
Via carrier proteins. We cannot get charged molecules across the lipid bilayer without a carrier.
There are basically 2 ways a drug can get across a cell membrane, they are:
- By simple diffusion (depending on the oil water partition coefficient)
- By utilizing one of the cell membranes transport molecules.
What is the blood- gas partition coefficient?
-instead of oil/water partition coefficient, this one is used to describe the solubility of gases and volatile agents
For gases and volatile agents to cross the alveoli and enter the blood they must have some ________ and some ____________.
some lipid solubility and some blood solubility
Do the drug concentrations have anything to do with how gases and volatile agents cross membranes?
No, not the concentrations, but the partial pressure of the drugs determine if they will cross the membrane.
Gases move from an area of ________ partial pressure to an area of ________ partial pressure.
higher to lower.
What is the driving force for the movement of inhaled molecules into the blood?
The higher the initial partial pressure (at the alveoli) of the gas being inhaled is the driving force for moving the molecules into the blood until equilibrium is reached.
What is the tissue to blood coefficient?
It describes the solubility of a drug in particular tissue. It is specific for that tissue. This can tell us which drugs enter a tissue and to what extent, but does not tell us the overall effect of the drug at that tissue.
Define absorption
Movement of drug molecules across membranes and into the bloodstream.
Which route of drug delivery does not require absorption?
Anything you give IV. Absorption describes the phase of the drug where it enters the bloodstream to get to it’s site of action.
The diffusion of drugs across a membrane by passive diffusion can be described by _______’s law.
Fick’s
A large difference in drug conentration (or in the case of gases, partial pressure) across a membrane ____________ diffusion rate.
increases
A large membrane area and a drug that is easily soluble _________ diffusion rate across a membrane.
increases
A thicker membrane and a large molecule ________ diffusion across a membrane.
decreases
Once broken down into smaller particles, an oral medication will cross cell membranes and enter the bloodstream by ______________.
passive diffusion
Passive diffusion of a drug requires it to be in a ________ form so the ionization state is important.
lipid
Most oral drugs are best absorbed in the ____________.
small intestine
Oral drugs that are weak acids are better absorbed in the ______________.
stomach
In the acidic environment of the stomach, weakly acid drugs tend to exist in their _________ forms and are therefore more easily absorbed.
unionized
In the small intestine, bicarbonate is excreted into the intestinal lumen, creating a more basic envirnoment, in which basic drugs will convert to:
their more unionized, more lipid- soluble form, making them more easily absorbed by the intestine
Define distribution.
The drug distributed through the body and into the tissues where it can act.
Drugs bound to protein are: (active/ inactive).
inactive
The 3 most common binding proteins are:
albumin and alpha acid glycoproteins and lipoproteins
Protein structures are ________ with ________ binding sites.
large with multiple sites
The bond between drugs and proteins tend to be very (weak/ strong).
weak, they will detach easily
Do all drugs bind to protein?
no
For drugs that have a high affinity for protein, protein can act as a:
reservoir
Describe how protein acts as a reservoir for drugs.
If a drug is highly bound to protein, the unbound will cross into the cells. As the unbound leaves the blood, the ratio of bound to unbound changes and more becomes unbound. This is an example of a slow release of drug.
What is meant by redistribution?
- The drug will be distributed until equilibrium occurs
- As plasma levels of the drug decrease from metabolism, the drug will move back into the plasma to maintain equilibrium
- Once it goes back into the plasma, some of it might go into the fat, depending on it’s lipid solubility. This is why propofol has such a short duration of action.
What is metabolism or biotransformation?
The body converts drug molecules into other chemical compounds. Usually they are converted into polar molecules that are easy for the body to eliminate. Rarely drugs can convert into less polar molecules which can lead to toxicities, but these drugs rarely make it to market.
What is the primary site of drug metabolism?
the liver
Name 5 sites (other than the liver) where drug metabolism can take place.
- Lung
- Kidney
- Skin
- Epithelial cells of the GI tract
- Plasma
There are 2 phases of metabolism. What happens in phase 1?
Primary Oxidation-Reduction reactions in the endoplasmic reticulum in hepatocytes.
What is the cytochrome P-450 system?
Found in the liver, consists of enzymes linked to heme proteins. This is a family of enzymes, each of which may be different for metabolizing a different drug.
There are more than ____ Cytochrome P-450 enzymes.
50
Only ____ cytochrome P-450 enzymes are resonsible for 90% of all drug metabolism.
6
Name the 6 Cytochrome P-450 enzymes that are resonsible for 90% of all drug metabolism.
CYP1A2
CYP2C9
CYP2C19
CYP2D6
CYP3A4
CYP3A5
Name the 4 common chemical reactions in Phase 1 metabolism.
- hydroxylation
- oxidation
- reduction
- hydrolysis
As they are metabolized, some drugs undergo multiple conversions; some polar molecules just
enter the bloodstream to be excreted by the___________ or may enter the
biliary fluid to be excreted in ____.
kidneys; bile
Can Phase 1 metabolism reach saturation?
Yes. This is enzyme mediated metabolism so it is possible to saturate the system’s ability to metabolize a compound.
What sorts of things cause a Phase 1 metabolism saturation?
- Giving too much of a compound
- When similar compounds are given that use the same enzyme for metabolism. The result is a build up of compound and an increased half-life
Define induction in relation the enzymes of the Cytochrome P-450 system.
Induction is an increase in the number of active enzymes that can metabolize a drug, resulting in a shorter half-life. Drugs and environmental exposure, like smoking, can increase the number.
What happens if drugs inhibit the Cytochrome P-450 system?
The drug for the specific enzyme or another drug may actually inhibit the activity of the enzyme, prolonging the half-life of the administered drug.
What happens in Phase 2 metabolism?
Large, polar compounds are attached to the molecule being metabolized. Some drugs go through this in Phase 1 but most go through it in phase 2.
What does attaching a polar molecule to a drug do to it?
Makes it more water soluble. Polar molecules are more easily eliminated by biliary and renal routes.
What is first pass effect (first pass metabolism) ?
After a drug is absorbed it goes directly to the hepatic portal system and directly to the liver. Depending on the drug, some amount of metabolism takes place here, before it can enter the systemic circulation.
Define bioavailabitly.
The amount of drug that makes it to systemic circulation after first pass metabolism.
What are esterases?
Esterases are enzymes that split ester molecules. Plasma esterase or pseudocholinesterase metabolize or inactivate many ester drugs. (like sux, etomidate, and procaine)
Define elimination.
The removal of a drug molecule from the body.
Metabolizing a drug into a different form, whether active or inactive is one form of _________.
Excretion (the original drug has effectively been removed from the body)
What is meant by volume of distribution Vd?
The apparent volume of the amount of plasma in which the drug is dissolved. (it’s theoretical since we never know the exact volume of the plasma)
If a drug stays in the plasma, like heparin, what can be said about the volume of distribution?
the volume of distribution is directly related to the plasma volume.