the Science of Medicines Flashcards
Why do we need to study the solubility of drugs?
there are changes in pH within the GI tract, so changes in ionisation and solubility and drugs could precipitate
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation for a weak acid
log [A-] / [HA] = pH - pKa
When is [A-] greater than [HA]?
when pH is greater than pKa
When is [HA] greater than [A-]?
when pH is less than pKa
Henderson-Hasselbalch equation for a weak base
log [B] / [BH+] = pH - pKa
When is [B] greater than [BH+]?
when pH is greater than pKa
When is [BH+] greater than [B]?
when pH is less than pKa
What is the solubility of a weak acid like in low pH?
you decrease pH by adding H+, so there will be an increased proportion of HA, which is unionised, so low solubility
What is the solubility like of a weak acid at high pH?
you increase pH by removing H+, so higher proportion of ionised form, which is highly soluble
Weak acid as salt equilibrium equation
Na+ A- + H2O <=> NaOH + HA
What is S0?
the saturation solubility of the undissociated species HA
What is Cs?
the ‘total saturation solubility’ of the weak acidic drug –> interpreted as the initial concentration of salt added to solution
What does Cs equal?
Cs = S0 + [A-]
What information do you need to predict the solubility of a weakly acidic drug?
- pH of the solution
- the pKa
- the solubility of the free (unionised) form of the drug (S0)
What is the solubility equation for a weakly acidic drug?
log (Cs-S0) / S0 = pH - pKa
When pH = pKa, what is the Cs of a weakly acidic drug?
Cs = 2 x S0
The solubility of a weakly acidic drug increase by about …. for each pH unit above the pKa
10x
The solubility of a weakly acidic drug approaches S0 as….
pH decreases below the pKa
The solubility of a weakly acidic drug equal 2 x S0 when…
the pH equals the pKa
When is a weakly basic drug more soluble?
when pH is decreased by adding H+, so there is an increased proportion of BH+, so higher solubility
When is a weakly basic drug less soluble?
when pH is increased by removing H+, so there is a smaller proportion of BH+ and higher of B, so lower solubility
Equation for weak bases forming salts
BH+ Cl- + H2O <=> B + H+ Cl- + H2O
What is Cs equal to for a weakly basic drug?
Cs = S0 + [BH+]
When pH = pKa, what is the Cs of a weakly basic drug?
2 x S0
The solubility of a weakly basic drug increases by about … for each unit of pH below the pKa
10x
The solubility of a weakly basic drug approaches S0 as…
the pH increases above the pKa
The solubility of a weakly basic drug equals 2 x S0 when…
pH = pKa
What happens to the pH of a solution when the salt of a weak acid is used instead of the free form?
the pH increases
What happens to the solubility to the salt of a weak acid instead of the free form?
solubility increases
When may the precipitation of the salt of a weak acid occur?
when pH is the solution is lowered
What happens to the pH of the solution of the salt of a weak base instead of the free form?
the pH of the solution decreases
What happens to the solubility of the salt of a weak base instead of the free form?
solubility increase
When may precipitation occur with the salt of a weakly basic drug?
if pH is increased
BCS class 1
high solubility and permeability, use simple solid oral dosage form
BCS class 2
low solubility, high permeability, need techniques to increase surface area OR use solvents or surfactants
BCS class 3
high solubility, low permeability, need to include permeability enhances
BCS class 4
low solubility and permeability, combine 2 and 3
What happens to a weak base in the GI tract?
it will have a high dissolution rate in the stomach, but this falls as the pH of the GI tract rises
What happens to a weak acid in the GI tract?
it will have minimal dissolution in the stomach as pH is so low, but it increases down the gut with pH
How does the salt of a weak acid increase the pH of the diffusion layer?
- Na+ + Cl- + H2O Na+ + OH- + HA
- Cl- reacts with water, forming -OH, increasing pH
How does the salt of a weak base decrease the pH of the diffusion layer?
- BH+ + Cl- + H2O = H2O + B + H+ + Cl-
- BH+ can donate a proton to water through H30+, which forms H2O and H+, increasing pH
What is the major advantage of using the salt form of a drug?
results in a controlled pH of the diffusion layer no matter where in the GI tract it is
When does precipitation of a drug occur?
when the pH of solution is adjusted to a value that produces mostly unionised molecules exceeding solubility
How can the solubility of non-polar compounds in water be improved?
adding water-miscible solvents in which the compound IS soluble
define co-solvent
vehicles used with water to increase the solubility of a drug
What is the purpose of cosolvents? (3)
- get aqueous systems where the drug is more soluble
- formulate higher concentrations of the drug
- improve stability of the formulation
What are the 3 factors a cosolvent needs?
- to be an organic compound
- miscible with water
- better solvent than water for the drug
How do cosolvents works?
- they decrease the hydrogen bond density of the aqueous system
- reduce the cohesive interactions of water
- reduce the polarity of the solution
How does solubility increase with increasing cosolvent concentration?
exponentially
define interfacial area
the total area of contact between two liquids in a liquid-liquid operation –> large one will prevent dissolving
How do inclusion compounds work?
by incorporating the non-polar portion of one molecule into the non-polar part of another molecule that is water soluble –> you reduce the non-polar water interfacial area by inserting the solute into the complexing agent
What is the most commonly used inclusion compouns?
cyclodextrins
What is a cyclodextrin?
an enzymatically modified starch, and their units form a cylindrical ring
What is the structure of a cyclodextrin?
the outer surface of the ring is hydrophobic and the internal surface of the cavity is non-polar
define surface tension
adhesive forces between the liquid phase of one substance and either a solid, liquid or gas phase of another surface at the interface
How do surfactants work?
they reduce the surface tension at an interface without needing large concentrations of them
To be a surfactant, what properties are needed?
- one element must have a high affinity for the solvent (hydrophilic or polar head, non-ionic or ionic)
- one element must have a minimal affinity for the solvent (lipophilic or nonpolar chain)
What must the polar region on a surfactant be able to do?
- have an affinity for water
- must be capable of pulling long-chain hydrocarbons into water
- must be polar enough to hold the nonpolar region of the surfactant in solution
How are surfactants classified?
by the charge carried by polar part: anionic, cationic, zwitterionic, non-ionic
define critical micelle concentration
the concentration of monomer (surfactant) at which micelles form
define aggregation number
the number of monomers that aggregate to form a micelle
At the critical micelle concentration, which physical properties of surfactants change?
- osmotic pressure
- turbidity
- electrical conductance
- surface tension
What factors of surfactants may increase the critical micelle concentration?
decrease the carbon chain length, increase the polarity of the head
What factors of surfactants may decrease the critical micelle concentration?
temperature, pH, a second surfactant, addition of electrolytes, longer carbon chain length
What are the 4 critical values for micelles?
- critical micelle concentration
- Kraft point (critical micelle temperature)
- cloud point
- critical micelle pH
define the Kraft point
the temperature at which the solubility becomes equal to the critical micelle concentration
What happens when temperature is less than the Kraft point?
the critical micelle concentration is greater than the solubility, so micelles can’t form
What happens when temperature is greater than the critical micelle concentration?
the surfactant forms micelles
What happens to micelles at the cloud point?
an increase in temperature leads to dehydration of POE chains, decreased water solubility and the formation of very large micelles making the solution cloudy
What happens at the critical micelle pH?
if the ionised form of a compound is surface active and the unionised form is surface inactive (or has a lower CMC than the ionised form) then a change in pH can induce micellisation
Can the polar part of a surfactant be non-ionic?
yes, for example hydroxyl and ether groups
What do surfactants do?
decrease the surface tension at the interface
What is the downside to non-ionic polar heads?
they are less polar than ionised groups, so we need more ‘units’ to produce an effective polar head
What is polyoxyethylene (POE)?
a chain with 20 or more ether groups linked to the nonpolar part
What does POE-23 lauryl ether mean?
there are 23 monomeric POE groups in this molecule
What are the applications of anionic surfactants?
oil/water emulsifiers
What are the applications of cationic surfactants?
disinfectants, oil/water emulsifers
What are the applications of non-ionic surfactants?
oil/water and water/oil emulsifiers, also have low toxicity unlike cationic and anionic
Can surfactants be used as drugs?
yes
When does micellisation occur?
when micelle concentration exceeds the CMC
define solubilisation
the process by which water-insoluble or partly soluble substances are brought into aqueous solution by incorporation into micelles
What is the solubilisation capacity (k)?
a measure of the ability of a surfactant to solubilise a solute
What is the molar solubilisation capacity (k)?
the number of moles of solute that can be solubilised by 1 mole of micellar surfactant
What are the equations for solubilisation capacity?
k = molar solubility of the solute in the micelle / molar concentration of micellar surfactants
Why is a low CMC for surfactant drugs preferred?
low CMC means that the surfactant can form micelles at a lower concentration, so when micelles are formed they can solubilise hydrophobic drugs
How can we increase the solubilisation capacity of a low polarity solute?
- increase hydrocarbon chain -> larger nonpolar regions will solubilise more solute and decreases CMC
- introduce polar group
- used branched surfactants as they form smaller micelles
What 4 factors need to be considered when selecting a surfactant?
- amount of surfactant that can be placed in water
- ability of it to solubilise the solute
- the chain length -> influences CMC
- finding a balance
What is Lundelius’ rule?
any factor that decrease the solubility of the surfactant promotes surface activity
What does a high HLB surfactant value indicate?
a surfactant with mainly polar or hydrophilic properties
What does a low HLB surfactant value indicate?
surfactant with mainly lipophilic or non-polar properties
How do you calculate the HLB of a mixture of surfactants?
HLB = x HLB(A) + (1-x) HLB(B) where x are fractions of each surfactant
define required HLB
the particular HLB of a surfactant needed to form a stable w/o or o/w emulsion
Why does HLB of an emulsifier vary with temperature?
temperature affects the relative solubilities of the lipophilic and hydrophilic parts
What happens to non-ionic surfactants at higher temperature?
hydrogen bonds are weakened by thermal forces and the emulsifier is less soluble in water
define the Phase Inversion Temperature (PIT)
the T at which an emulsifier changes from being an O/W emulsifier to a W/O emulsifier
If a non-ionic emulsifier is water soluble at low temperature, what kind is it?
it stabilises O/W emulsions
If a non-ionic emulsifier is oil soluble at high temperature, what kind is it?
it stabilises W/O emulsions
define swallowing
the passage of a food bolus from the oral cavity to the stomach
What muscles does swallowing involve?
muscles in the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus
What are the 3 phases of swallowing?
oral, pharyngeal, oesophageal
What are the steps of swallowing?
- stimulated when a food bolus stimulates pressure receptors in the back of the throat and larynx
- signals to the swallowing centre in the brain
- swallowing centres trigger nerve impulses
- this stimulates skeletal muscles in the pharynx and upper oesophagus
- involuntary contraction in the pharyngeal muscles pushes material into the oesophagus
What are the 2 types of movement in the stomach?
churning, peristalsis
When food is mixed, what are the stomach contents referred to as?
chyme
What does peristalsis in the stomach cause?
opening of the pyloric sphincter
What does the rate of gastric emptying depend on?
viscosity of chyme
How does movement in the stomach affect drugs?
churning is involved in dissolution and gastric emptying rate influences drug absorption
What happens to a drug if there is delayed gastric emptying?
the drug stays in the stomach and affect its stability as it is in acid for longer
What are the two types of movement in the small intestine?
segmentation (causes mixing) and peristalsis
What is peristalsis in the small intestine coordinated by?
the enteric nervous system
define segmentation
when non-adjacent segments of the small intestine alternately contract and relax, moving the food forwards then backwards
What are the steps of peristalsis in the small intestine?
- contraction of circular muscles behind food mass
- contraction of longitudinal muscles ahead of food mass
- contraction of circular muscle again forces food mass forward
What does the enteric nervous system control?
intestinal and colonic motility
What are the 2 main branches of neurones in the ENS?
Auerbach’s (myenteric) plexus and Meissner’s (submuscosal) plexus
What is the ENS influenced by?
neurotransmitters and autonomic input
How does the sympathetic NS affect the ENS?
inhibits the ENS -> decreases peristalsis, blood flow, secretion and absorption
How does the parasympathetic NS affect the ENS?
stimulates ENS -> increases peristalsis, blood flow, secretion and absorption
Which hormones increase activity of the ENS?
gastrin, motilin, serotonin, insulin, cholecystokinin
Which hormones decrease the activity of the ENS?
secretin and glucagon
How does intestinal motility affect drug absorption?
- transit time -> influences absorption
- distribution -> contractions in GI tract increase SA of drug
- migrating mobility complex -> involved in regulating drug absorption
define migrating motility complex
a recurring motility pattern that is regulated by electrical activity