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Drug Distribution

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ADME Processes in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Abstract

Once in systemic circulation, the drug will (reversibly) extravasate to other tissues, including the targeted organ/s, a process that we will refer as drug distribution. Pharmacologically speaking, drug distribution is a critical process, since it will determine (a) the quantity of drug present at its site of action at a given time point and (b) the quantity of drug that reaches other tissues different from the site of action. The pattern of drug distribution will also influence the elimination half-life of drugs and, therefore, the extent of their action. The extent and rate of drug distribution depend on several factors such as the physicochemical properties, vascular permeability, regional blood flow, cardiac output, the ability of the drug to bind plasma proteins and tissue elements, and pH partition. Besides discussing most of such factors, this chapter will briefly present the concepts of real and apparent volumes of distribution.

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Further Reading

  • The reader is advised to complement this chapter with those that focus on drug elimination (Chaps. 4 and 5) and drug-drug interactions (Chap. 12), in this same volume. If interested in drug interactions related to the distribution process, the reader is strongly advised to read the chapter by McElnay, which is listed among the references.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alan Talevi

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÚficas y Técnicas (CONICET), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alan Talevi

  3. Medicinal Chemistry/Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Faculty of Exact Sciences, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina

    Carolina Leticia Bellera

  4. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Carolina Leticia Bellera

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  1. Alan Talevi
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  2. Carolina Leticia Bellera
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Correspondence to Alan Talevi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Bioactive Research and Development (LIDeB), Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Alan Talevi

  2. Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Products, Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Pablo A. M. Quiroga

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Talevi, A., Bellera, C.L. (2018). Drug Distribution. In: Talevi, A., Quiroga, P. (eds) ADME Processes in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99593-9_3

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