Pharmacokinetics Flashcards
What factors are involved in pharmacokinetics?
- Absorption
- Distribution
- Metabolism
- Excretion
What is absorption?
passage of a drug from the site of administration into the plasma
What is bioavailability?
the fraction of the initial dose that gains access to the systemic circulation
What is the difference between absorption and bioavailability?
- Absorption deal with process for drug transfer into the systemic circulation
- Bioavailability deals with outcome of drug transfer into systemic circulation (ie how much)
What determines absorption and bioavailability?
Site of administration
When will you have the best absorption and bioavailability?
Intravenous administration - process for drug passage is injecting full dose straight into circulation - outcome if the full dose is administered straight into the circulation is that the bioavailability must be 100%
What are other forms of drug administration.?
- Oral
- Inhalational
- Dermal (Percutaneous)
- Intra-nasal
- and many more
When might bioavailability in each case be less than 100%
Need to transfer across at least one lipid membrane (not injected straight into blood stream)
How can drugs move around the body as?
- Bulk flow transfer (i.e. in the bloodstream)
2. Diffusional transfer (i.e. molecule by molecule across short distances)
What is pinocytosis? When is it used?
- Small part of the cell membrane enveloping the chemical molecule and forming a vesicle containing the drug
- Vesicle then release the chemical on the other side of the membrane
e. g insulin access to brain rarely used to transport drugs
Is diffusion used often?
Diffusion across aqueous pores i.e. the gaps between epithelial/endothelial cells that make up the membrane, is also not a major route for movement of drugs across membrane
Why is diffusion not used that often?
- pores are less than 0.5nm in diameters
- very few drugs this small
- little movement of drugs across this aqueous route
How do most drugs move across membranes by diffusing across lipid membranes?
- diffusing across lipid membrane
2. Carrier mediated transport
What is carrier mediated transport?
- involves a transmembrane protein
- which can bind drug molecules on one side of the membrane
- then transfer them across to the other side of the membrane
When can drugs diffuse across lipid membranes?
drugs need to be suitably lipid soluble to do this
Are drugs usually more water soluble or lipid soluble? Why is this the case?
- more water soluble than lipid soluble
- mostly given orally and need to be water soluble to dissolve in aqueous environment of GI tract so that available for for absorption
What type of chemicals are most drugs?
- Weak acids
- Weak bases
- Exist in. ionised or unionised forms
What form is aspirin usually in? What does it do in its ionised state?
weak acid - in ionised state donate protons H+
What form is morphine usually in? What does it do in its ionised state?
weak base: in its ionised state accept protons: I.e. B(morphine)H+
When are drugs more likely to diffuse across plasma membranes?
unionised form of drugs retains more lipid solubility and is more likely to diffuse across plasma membranes
What does whether a drug is ionised or not depends on?
- the dissociation constant (pKa) for that drug and
2. the pH in that particular part of the body
What happens if the pKa pf the drugs and pH of the tissue are equal?
drug will be equally dissociated between the two forms i.e. 50% ionised and 50% unionised
What is the pKa of aspirin?
Weak acid, 3.5
What happens to aspirin in a pH of 3.5?
equally dissociated between the two forms