Effect of serum protein binding on pharmacokinetics and anticoagulant activity of phenprocoumon in rats

Study of interaction of carprofen and its enantiomers with human serum albumin--II. Stereoselective site-to-site displacement of carprofen by ibuprofen

The site-to-site displacement of carprofen, a site II-specific drug, bound to human serum albumin (HSA) by ibuprofen, another site II-specific drug, was qualitatively and quantitatively studied by circular dichroism (CD) and equilibrium dialysis (ED). Carprofen gives rise to different CD spectra at lower (1:1) and higher (3:1) molar ratios to HSA, indicating different mechanisms for the binding of this drug to its high and low affinity sites on HSA. Ibuprofen at a 5:1 molar ratio to HSA displaces carprofen at a molar ratio of 1:1 to HSA from its high affinity binding site (site II) to its low affinity site (site I), as shown by production of the CD spectrum similar to that obtained in the case of the carprofen-HSA complex at a molar ratio 3:1. As revealed by the ED experiments, the free fraction of carprofen at a molar ratio of 1:2 to HSA (2 x 10(-5) M) was not initially increased by the addition of ibuprofen at a lower concentration, but at a higher concentration (6 x 10(-5) M), the free fraction was increased by only 90%. When site I was sufficiently blocked by a site I-specific drug like warfarin or phenylbutazone (6 x 10(-5) M), there was about a 4-fold increase in the free fraction of carprofen caused by ibuprofen. This site-to-site displacement demonstrated by carprofen was found to be stereospecific as indicated by the highest interaction between the S(+)-enantiomers of carprofen and ibuprofen. Moreover, the displacement of carprofen occurred at the azapropazone region rather than the warfarin region of site I on HSA.

Methods of determining plasma and tissue binding of drugs. Pharmacokinetic consequences

The available techniques for the investigation of drug binding to plasma and tissues protein are reviewed and the advantages and disadvantages of the various techniques stated. A comparison of different plasma protein binding techniques is made which shows that the size of the unbound fraction of drug may be influenced by the method used. Protein binding may be assayed by methods including equilibrium dialysis, ultrafiltration, ultracentrifugation, gel filtration, binding to albumin microspheres and circular dichroism. Tissue binding techniques can involve testing binding to isolated organs, tissue slices, homogenates and isolated subcellular particles. Details of the available methods to compute pharmacokinetic constants are given. Stereoselective binding has been investigated for a limited number of drugs and the difference in the binding of 2 enantiomers is usually modest. The measurement of the binding constants is often required to characterise the drug-protein interaction. Mathematical and graphical methods to compute the pharmacokinetic parameters are discussed. The implications of binding on the volume of distribution and clearance of drugs are examined.

Influence of obesity on sulfonamide disposition in Zucker rats

The genetically obese Zucker rat was used as a model of obesity and compared to its lean littermate to assess and quantify obesity-altered changes in the in vivo disposition of six sulfonamides. Body composition determination indicated that the obese rats were twice the weight of lean rats and a distinct trend towards an increase in fat free mass and total body water was observed. The sulfonamide blood concentration was measured by colorimetry after a 7 mg/kg intravenous dose. All sulfonamides exhibited a biexponential decline of blood concentration with time. The volume of distribution and clearance of sulfanilamide in lean and obese rats were similar resulting in similar elimination half-lives. A decrease in clearance coupled with a trend towards an increase in volume of distribution prolonged the elimination half-life of sulfadiazine in obese rats. For sulfapyridine, sulfamerazine, sulfisomidine and sulfisoxazole, increases in the volumes of distribution and clearances resulted in similar elimination half-lives in lean and obese rats. The free fractions of the sulfonamides were significantly increased in the serum of obese rats, the influence of which on the volume of distribution and clearance is discussed.

Dose-dependent metabolism and hepatic distribution of phenprocoumon in rats

The dose-dependency of phenprocoumon disposition was determined in rats by iv administration of 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg doses to separate groups of animals. The intrinsic clearance (unbound clearance) was 33% lower in the animals given 1.0 mg/kg dose than in the animals given 0.1 mg/kg dose. The apparent unbound volume of distribution was 55% lower and the elimination rate constant 54% higher in the high dose group than in the lower dose group. Binding of phenprocoumon to liver showed saturability with a two- to threefold higher apparent unbound fraction of phenprocoumon in liver in animals given the high dose in comparison to animals given the low dose.

Protein binding and hepatic clearance: discrimination between models of hepatic clearance with diazepam, a drug of high intrinsic clearance, in the isolated perfused rat liver preparation

The influence of protein binding on the extraction ratio, and availability, of diazepam has been examined in the single-pass isolated perfused rat liver preparation. Binding of diazepam was varied by adjusting the concentration of albumin in the perfusate. In the absence of binding the extraction ratio of diazepam was high, 0.93-0.995. Extraction decreased dramatically as the degree of binding was increased. The data are more consistent with the "parallel-tube" model than with the "well-stirred" model, two perfusion models that have been used to describe hepatic drug elimination.

Protein binding and hepatic clearance: studies with tolbutamide, a drug of low intrinsic clearance, in the isolated perfused rat liver preparation

The influence of altered drug binding on the hepatic elimination of tolbutamide, a drug of low intrinsic clearance, and on the formation of its metabolite, hydroxytolbutamide, was examined under linear conditions at steady state in the isolated in situ single-pass perfused rat liver preparation, with perfusate flow fixed at 15 ml/min. The fraction of tulbutamide unbound in the perfusate was varied (from 0.06 to 1.0) by either varying the perfusate concentration of albumin or using albumin of different animal species. The intrinsic clearance of tolbutamide varied fourfold between preparations (0.08-0.36 ml/min/g liver). Within each preparation the data were normalized to observations with a perfusate containing no protein. Both the extraction ratio (and clearance) of tolbutamide and the fraction of tulbutamide appearing as hydroxytolbutamide in effluent perfusate, a measure of hepatic metabolism, were directly proportional to the fraction of tolbutamide unbound in the perfusate.