Pharm Unit 1 Flashcards
Pharmacology
The study of chemical interactions within a living system through chemical processes
Pharmacodynamics
How the body interacts with a drug, and how the drug effects the body
Pharmacokinetics
How the body process/excretes a drug.
ADME
Absorption
Distribution
Metabolism
Excretion
Drug
a substance that causes a physiological change to the body
Agonist
A molecule that binds to a receptor to illicit a desired response. Think of it as an activator
Antagonist
This is an inhibitor, it binds to stop something from happening. Think of it as a blocker/competer, like narcan.
Ligand
A native molecule w/a functional group
Stereoisomerism
Molecules that have the same chemical makeup, but are mirror images of each other. Frequently potentiate each other.
Racemic mixture
A blend of stereoisomers, think ketamine r and ketamine s
Orthosteric receptor
This is the native binding site
Allosteric receptor
An active site other than the native binding site (orthosteric) where a molecule can bind.
Average drug size
100 - 1000mw (molecular weight)
Why do drugs usually fall between a certain weight range?
Because any bigger and its hard for the molecule to diffuse across a membrane, any smaller and it is very difficult for a molecule to have specificity (if its too small, it could theoretically bind to a lot of other receptors).
What factors determine if a molecule can bind to a receptor?
Size/shape, atomic structure (such as what amino acids are attached to it) and electro-chemical charge
What are the 3 main types of bonds?
Covalent (strongest) Electrostatic (H bonds, van der waals forces) and Hydrophobic (lipid soluble drugs)
What bond type is strongest? Is it very specific or not very specific? why?
Covalent. It is very specific, because it has such a strong bond and will not disassociate easily it will try to only bond to a certain type of receptor. So high bond strength, low specificity.
What is the relationship between bond strength and specificity?
Inverse, the higher the bond strength, the lower the specificity.
What is an example of an inert carrier?
Albumin
What is an indirect agonist?
Something that potentiates a reaction “downstream.” Ie, an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down a molecule is changed, and can no longer bind to the final product, allowing the downstream effect to continue un-abated
What is the difference between surmountable antagonistic interactions and insurmountable antagonistic interactions?
With insurmountable, once bound it is bound, there is no overcoming it. No matter how much agonist you give, the response of the agonist will not increase. With surmountable, if you give enough agonist you can eventually overcome the agonist and achieve the desired response.
What is therapeutic index?
The narrow range between desired drug effect and toxicity on a dose/response curve. The goal when giving drugs is to fall somewhere between these 2 lines.
What is kd?
The drug concentration when half the receptors are bound.
What does a low k mean?
High receptor affinity; the agonist will bind quickly, this creates a sharp uptake line on a dose response curve.