Pharmacokinetics Flashcards
Absorption defn
Process by which a drug proceeds from the site of administration to the site of measurement
Two categories of drug admission?
- Intravascular (IV) – We do not have to worry about absorption here.
- Extravascular – GI or Non-GI
GI
oral
All routes of extravascular drug administration
- Oral (GI)
- Sublingual & Rectal (Non GI)
- Transdermal (Non GI)
- Subcutaneous (Non GI)
- Inhalation (Non GI)
- Intradermal (Non GI)
- Intramuscular (Non GI)
Sublingual and Rectal administration info
Avoid 1st pass metabolism, do not drain to the hepatic portal system
Transdermal administration info
Only suitable for some lipophilic drugs
Inhalation administration info
- Enter the pulmonary circulation
- Localise effect to lungs while avoiding systemic side-effects
Intravenous administration info
- Deliver a drug directly into the blood stream
- 100% of dose circulated before being broken down
What does the rate and extent of absorption depend on?
- The environment where the drug is absorbed
- Chemical characteristics of the drug
- Route of administration
Chemical characteristics affecting absorption
Whether they were absorbed by:
- Passive diffusion
- Facilitated diffusion
- Active transport
- Endocytosis
Passive diffusion (most common) defn
Drug moves from a region of high concentration to one of lower concentration.
Passive diffusion drug movement of polar and lipophilic drugs
- Water-soluble drugs penetrate cell membrane through aqueous channels/pores
- Lipid-soluble drugs move across membranes due to their solubility in membrane lipid bilayers
Facilitated diffusion defn
Specialised transmembrane carrier proteins undergo conformational changes to facilitate passage of large molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. Requires energy.
Active transport defn
Specific transmembrane carrier proteins move drugs from region of low concentration to one of higher concentration. Requires energy.
Endocytosis
Engulfment of an exceptionally large drug by cell membrane & transport into cell by endo/exocytosis of drug-filled vesicle.
Environment body factors that drug absorption depend on (6)
- pH
- Surface area for absorption (↑ in intestine due to folds)
- Vascularity (↑ in intestine due to increased blood flow)
- Food (variable effect for drugs)
- Gastric emptying
- Disease – alter the exposure of tissues
7.Secreted substances
Bioavailability (F) defn
The relative amount of administered drug that reaches the general circulation & the rate at which this occurs
How is bioavailability determined?
by comparing plasma levels of a drug, after a particular route of administration, after a certain time.
What is bioavailability affected by?
- Route of admission
- Properties of drug eg. particle size, solubility
- Absorption factors eg. luminal pH, gastric emptying
- Metabolism (1st pass)
- Pharmacogenetics – inherited genetic differences in drug metabolic pathways
- AUC – extent of drug absorption
First pass mechanism
- When a drug is absorbed from the GI tract, it enters the portal circulation before entering the systemic circulation.
- If the drug is rapidly metabolised in the liver/gut wall during this initial passage, the amount of unchanged drug entering the systemic circulation is decreased.
Disadvantage for drugs with high 1st pass metabolism: (2)
- Large does prescribed
- Unpredictability in response due to marked individual respins
Disadvantage for drugs with high 1st pass metabolism: (2)
- Large does prescribed
- Unpredictability in response due to marked individual respins
How is the first pass mechanism avoided ?
Drugs administered IV enter directly into systemic circulation & have direct access to rest of body.
Double peak after single dose (eg. Morphine)
- Morphine goes into circulation via intestinal wall → liver
- At liver, morphine metabolised into → morphine glucuronide
- Morphine glucuronide goes into gall bladder → bile duct → secreted into intestinal wall again
- At intestinal wall, gut flora cleaves morphine glucuronide → morphine & glucuronide