Option D: Medicinal Chemistry Flashcards
What do medicines and drugs do?
One of the following:
- Alter incoming sensory sensations
- Alter a person’s mood or emotions
- Alter the physiological state of the body including consciousness and coordination
Drug
A substance that causes a physiological change in the body
Pharmaceutical drugs
Used for the treatment or prevention of disease.
Medicines contain beneficial drugs.
Recreational drugs
Chemical substances taken for enjoyment or leisure purposes rather than for medical reasons
Example include alcohol, nicotine, cannabis and ecstasy
Therapeutic effect
The beneficial effect of a medicine
Methods of drug administration: Oral
Taken by mouth
e.g tables, capsules, pills
Methods of drug administration: Inhalation
Vapour breathed in or smoking
e.g asthma medication or drugs such as nicotine
Methods of drug administration: Skin patches
Absorbed through the skin into the blood
e.g hormone patches
Methods of drug administration: Suppositories
Inserted into the rectum
e.g laxatives for constipation
Methods of drug administration: Eye or ear drops
Liquids administered into eyes or ears
e.g treatment of eye or ear infections
Methods of drug administration: Injection (parenteral)
Injected into the muscle, blood, or under the skin
e.g vaccines and local anaesthetics
Parenteral methods of drug administration: intramuscular
Drug is injected directly into the muscle
Parenteral methods of drug administration: subcutaneous
Drug is injected directly under the skin into the subcutaneous tissue
Parenteral methods of drug administration: intravenous
Drug is injected directly into the blood stream.
This method has the most rapid effect as the drug is injected directly into the blood
Bioavailability
The fraction of the administered dosage of a drug that enters the bloodstream thereby accessing the site of action
Factors that effect the bioavailability
- The method of drug administration
- The polarity (solubility) of the drug
- The type of functional groups present in the drug
Bioavailability of drugs that are administered intravenously
Drugs that are administered intravenously have a bioavailability of 100% as they are delivered directly into the bloodstream
Bioavailability of drugs that are administered orally
Drugs that are administered orally are often broken down during digestion before reaching the bloodstream.
In general, an oral dose of a drug needs to be about four times higher than the dosage of the same drug that is administered intravenously.
How does the polarity of a drug affect its solubility
Very hydrophilic (polar_ drugs are soluble in aqueous body fluid but are poorly absorbed because of their inability to cross cell membranes (composed of lipids)
Very hydrophobic (non polar) drugs are also poorly absorbed because they are insoluble in aqueous fluids
For a drug to be readily absorbed it must be largely hydrophobic (non-polar) but also have some solubility in aqueous solutions.
How do functional groups affect solubility of a drug
A functional group’s ability to ionise and a functional group’s ability to form hydrogen bonds contribute to the water solubility of a functional group.
Carboxyl groups, hydroxyl groups and amine groups all have the ability to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules.
In addition, carboxyl groups are acid and amine groups are basic. Both of these groups can form ions therefore increasing the solubility of a drug.
Functional groups that enhance the lipid solubility of a drug
These functional groups are non-polar. They lack the ability to ionise or to form hydrogen bonds.
examples are phenyl groups and alkyl groups.
Bioavailability of aspirin
Aspirin is a largely non-polar molecule and therefore has low solubility in water
It has a carboxyl group, a phenyl group, and an ester group.
The solubility of aspirin can be increased by reacting it with aqueous NaOH to form an ionic salt (increasing bioavailability)
Bioavailability can be increased by administering aspirin intravenously.
Therapeutic window
The therapeutic window is a measure of the safety of a drug
The wider the therapeutic window, the safer the drug.
A wide therapeutic window means that there is a wide margin between doses that are effective and doses that are toxic.
A narrow therapeutic window means that only a small increase in the effective dose may produce toxic effects.
Therapeutic index
The ratio between the dosage of a drug that causes a toxic effect and the dosage that causes a therapeutic effect
Therapeutic index in humans is calculated by dividing the median toxic dose by the median effective dose
Therapeutic index in animals is calculated by dividing the median lethal dose by the median effective dose
Drug development
Main stages of drug development:
- Drug is synthesised in lab
- The drug is tested on animals to determine the LD 50
- The drug is tested on humans - half of the group are given the real drug, the other half are given a placebo. This placebo contains none of the drug being tested.
- This is done double-blind
Placebo effect
When the body is fooled into healing itself naturally
Factors that must be determined during clinical drug trials
- Risk : benefit ratio - balance between the risks and benefits of the drug
- Unwanted side effects
- Drug tolerance - person needs to take ever larger qu’altistes of a drug to gain the original effect
Synthesis of aspirin
Aspirin is produced by reacting salicylic acid with ethanoic anhydride
Salicylic acid is converted to aspirin through esterification, which is a condensation reaction.
The catalyst in the reaction can be either concentrated sulphuric acid or phosphoric acid
Uses of aspirin
Aspirin is a mild analgesic.
Mild analgesics block the sensation of pain at the source. Aspirin works by blocking the action of the enzymes that produce prostaglandins.
Prostaglandins are involved in the transmission of pain impulses to the brain, as well of causing fever and swelling.
Aspirin prevents the prostaglandins from being synthesised, thereby reducing or eliminating the pain.
Aspirin is also used as an anticoagulant.
Anticoagulants are a class of drugs that work to prevent the blood from clotting.
They are effective in the prevention of the recurrence of heart attacks and strokes.
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, aspirin is also taken for arthritis and rheumatism.
Side effects of aspirin
The most common side effect of aspirin is that it can cause bleeding of the lining of the stomach.
This effect is increased by drinking alcohol as the same time as taking aspirin, which is known as a synergistic effect.
Two drugs can have a synergistic effect if they increase each other’s effectiveness when taken together.
The synergistic effects of alcohol and aspirin can cause increased bleeding of the stomach lining.