An in-depth discussion of chemical and molecular pharmacology fundamentals, Basic Pharmacology: Understanding Drug Actions and Reactions provides the foundation in chemistry and biology central to understanding drug action at the cellular level. You get the information you need to: Identify essential functional groups in a drug and acidic and base groups in a drug Correlate the presence of functional groups with the chemical properties of a drug Understand the solubility, ionizability, and lipophilicity of a drug, and correlate these properties to drug transport mechanisms Correlate changes in functional groups to changes in the solubility, ionizability, and lipophilicity of a drug and therefore its absorption, distribution, and elimination Understand the relationship between pharmaceutical and physiochemical properties of drugs Predict the Phase I and Phase II metabolic transformation of a chemical structure Understand the enzymatic cycle of the cytochrome P450 system and its role in drug interactions Identify the specific tissue targets and the cellular mechanisms that mediate drug reaction Describe the functional importance of the various ion channels influenced by various drugs Understand the intracellular signal transduction mechanisms associated with receptor activation Understand the principles of enzyme inhibition associated with drug action Discriminate between reversible and irreversible enzyme inhibitors as it relates to drug action Describe the molecular interactions between an enzyme and its inhibitors as it relates to drug reaction. The authors thoroughly discuss the chemical and physical properties of drugs, drug absorption and distribution, drug interactions with cellular receptors, and drug metabolism and interactions. They explain chemical and molecular pharmacology principles with extensive use of model drug molecules. Blending medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, this resource clearly elucidates essential concepts that are the cornerstone for further work in pharmacology.
