Area Under the Curve (AUC)

Synonyms

Area under the curve across all time

Definition

A common use of the term “area under the curve” (AUC) is found in pharmacokinetic literature. It represents the area under the plasma concentration curve, also called the plasma concentration-time profile. It is of interest to know the area under the curve, i.e., the area defined by the plasma concentration curve at the top and the x-axis (time) at the bottom. The AUC is a measure of total systemic exposure to the drug.

AUC is one of several important pharmacokinetic terms that are used to describe and quantify aspects of the plasma concentration-time profile of an administered drug (and/or its metabolites, which may or may not be pharmacologically active themselves). These include:

• C_max: The maximum concentration or maximum systemic exposure

• T_max: The time of maximum concentration or maximum systemic exposure

• t_1/2 or half-life: The time required to reduce the plasma concentration to one-half of its initial value

Integral...