Principles of Pharmacology Flashcards
What is pharmacokinetics
what the body does to a drug
What determines pharmockinetics
absorption
distribution
metabolism
elimination
What is absorption
From the moment of administration,
absorption allows entry of the drug [either directly or indirectly] into the plasma
What is distribution
• Next, the drug may reversibly leave the
bloodstream and distribute into the
interstitial and intracellular fluids
What is metabolism
3rd step— metabolism cause the drug to
be biotransformed through metabolism by
the liver or other organs
What is elimination
The drug and its metabolites are then
eliminated from the body—and excreted via the urine bile or feces
Routes of administration
- enteral
- sublingual/buccal
- parenteral (IV, IM, subQ, and intradermal)
- oral inhalation/nasal preparations
- intratheacl/intraventricular
- topical
- transdermal
- rectal
Mechanisms of absorption in GI tract
- passive diffusion
- facilitated diffusion
- active transport
- endocyosis/exocytosis
Passive diffusion
Driving force for passive diffusion of a drug is the concentration gradient across a membrane—the drug moves from an area of high concentration to one of lower concentration
Does not involve a carrier, in not saturable and shows low structural specificity
Vast majority of drugs are absorbed by this
mechanism
Water-soluble drugs penetrate the cell membrane through aqueous channels [pores]
Lipid soluble drugs readily move across most biologic membranes due to solubility in the membrane lipid bilayers
Facilitated diffusion
Drug enter the cell through. specialized transmembrane carrier proteins that facilitate the passage of large
molecules
Dose not require energy
Can be saturated
May be inhibited by compounds that compete for the carrier
Active Transport
Specific carrier proteins that span the membrane
Is energy dependent, driven by hydrolysis of ATP
Capable of moving drugs against a concentration gradient, from a region of low drug concentration to an area of higher concentration
Process is saturable
Selective and may be inhibited by other co-transported substances
Endocytosis/exocytosis
-Used to transport drugs that are very large
across cell membranes
-Endocytosis involved engulfing a drug by
the membrane and transporting it into the
cell by pinching off the drug-filled vesicle
-Exocytosis is the opposite—cells can
secrete substances out of the cell through a similar process of vesicle formation
Factors that influence absoprtion
- pH
- blood flow
- total surface area
- contact time
- expression of P-glycoprotein
Drugs that pass through a membrane more readily are
uncharged
What does pKa tell us
The pKa value is one method used to indicate the strength of an acid
pKa is the negative log of the acid dissociation constant or Ka value
A lower pKa value indicates a stronger acid. That is, the lower value indicates the acid more fully
dissociates in water.
What happens in distribution equilibrium
when the permeable form of a drug reaches an equal amount in all body water spaces
Why is absorption in the intestines better than the stomach
- receives more blood flow
2. has more surface area bc of microvilli
What is P-glycoprotein?
- P-glycoprotein is a transmembrane transporter protein responsible for transporting various molecules and drugs across cell membranes
- It is in liver, kidneys, placenta, intestines, brain capillaries
- Involved in transportation of drugs from tissues to blood. “it pumps” drugs out of cells
- In areas of high expression—P-glycoprotein reduces drug absorption
- P-glycoprotein is also associated with multidrug resistance
What is bioavailability
- Rate and extent to which a given drug reaches the systemic circulation
- If 50 mg of a drug is given orally and 25 mg is absorbed unchanged—the bioavailability is .5 or 50%
- Bioavailability is important for calculating dosages for nonintravenous routes
How is bioavailability determined?
Compare plasma levels of a drug after a particular route of administration with levels achieved by IV route
What influences bioavailability?
- IV administration is 100% availability bc it goes straight into your system
- Oral agents have to undergo 1st pass metabolism
- solubility of drug
- chemical instability
- natures of drug formulation
What happens in fist pass metabolism?
- Drug absorbed from GI tract—enters the portal circulation before entering systemic circulation
- If drug is rapidly metabolized in liver or gut wall during this passage, the amount of unchanged drug entering the systemic circulation is decreased
- 1st pass metabolism by the intestine or liver limits efficacy of many PO meds
How does solubility of the drug effect bioavailability?
- Very hydrophilic drugs are poorly absorbed
- Drugs that are extremely lipophilic are also poorly absorbed, because they are insoluble in aqueous body fluids and as such cannot get into the surface of the cells
- For a drug to be readily absorbed—it must be largely lipophilic, yet have some solubility in aqueous solution—this is one reason why many drugs are either weak acids are weak bases
How does chemical instability effect bioavailability?
Some drugs are unstable in pH of
gastric contents [PCN G]
Others are destroyed in the GU tract by
degradative enzymes [insulin]