Abstract
The concentration of a drug at its site of action will be affected by the ability of the drug to distribute to and pass through various membranes and tissues. Mechanisms of drug distribution are summarized in this paper and include the differences between intracellular and extracellular pH,active transport systems for drugs, distribution of drugs between fat and water in adipose tissues, the reversible binding of drugs to phospholipids and to various macromolecules including proteins, nucleic acid, and melanin. These mechanisms usually tend to decrease the concentration of unbound drugs at their sites of action, but usually not to the extent one would predict on the basis of in vitrobinding studies. The effects of drug distribution in altering the biological half-lives of drugs in the body are discussed as well as the interrelationship between the kinetic volumes of distribution for drugs and blood flow rates through the organs that eliminate these drugs. These concepts are illustrated for corticosterone levels following intravenous bolus injections and infusions into rats.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W. Kalow. Esterase action. InMetabolic Factors Controlling Duration of Drug Action, Proc. First Internat. Pharmacol. Meeting, Vol. 6 (B. B. Brodie and E. G. Erdos, eds.), Pergamon Press, New York, 1962, pp. 137–146.
W. J. Waddell and T. C. Butler. Calculation of intracellularpH from the distribution of 5,5-dimethyl-2,4-oxazolidinedione (DMO): Application to skeletal muscle of the dog.J. Clin. Invest. 38: 720–729 (1959).
W. J. Waddell and T. C. Butler. The distribution and excretion of phenobarbital.J. Clin. Invest. 36: 1217–1226 (1957).
J. J. Burns, R. K. Rose, T. Chenkin, A. Goldman, A. Schulert, and B. B. Brodie. The physiological disposition of phenylbutazone in man and a method for its estimation in biological material.J. Pharmacol. Exptl. Therap. 109: 346–356 (1953).
J. V. Dingell, F. Sulser, and J. R. Gillette. Species differences in the metabolism of imipramine and desmethylimipramine (DMI).J. Pharmacol. Exptl. Therap. 143: 14–22 (1964).
M. A. Guarino, J. B. Anderson, D. K. Starkweather, and C. F. Chignell.Cancer Chemotherap. Rep. 57: 125–140 (1973).
D. W. Yesair, L. Remington, and C. J. Kensler. Comparative effects of salicylic acid, phenylbutazone, probenecid and other anions with metabolism, distribution and excretion of indomethacin by rats.Biochem. Pharmacol. 19: 1591 (1970).
S. Spector and C. W. Parker. Morphine: Radioimmunoassay.Science 168: 1347–1348 (1970).
S. Spector. Quantitative determination of morphine in serum by radioimmunoassay.J. Pharmacol. Exptl. Therap. 178: 253–258 (1971).
H. M. Solomon, J. J. Schrogie, and D. Williams. The displacement of phenylbutazone-14C and warfarin-14C from human albumin by various drugs and fatty acids.Biochem. Pharmacol. 17: 143–151 (1968).
C. F. Chignell, E. S. Vesell, D. K. Starkweather, and C. M. Berlin. The binding of sulfaphenazole to fetal, neonatal, and adult human plasma albumin.Clin. Pharm. Therap. 12: 897–901 (1971).
J. L. Kucera and F. J. Bullock. The binding of salicylate to plasma protein from several animal species.J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 21: 293–296 (1969).
C. F. Chignell. Fluorescence spectroscopy-A tool for studying drug interaction with biological systems. InMethods in Pharmacology, Vol. 2:Physical Methods (C. F. Chignall, ed.), Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1972, p. 39.
C. T. Dollery, D. Emslie-Smith, and D. F. Muggleton. Action of chlorothiazide on the distribution, excretion and hypotensive effect of pempidine in man.Brit. J. Pharmacol. Chemotherap. 17: 488–506 (1961).
C. F. Chignell and D. K. Starkweather. Optical studies of drug-protein complexes. V. The interaction of phenylbutazone, flufenamic acid, and dicumarol with acetylsalicylic acidtreated human serum albumin.Mol. Pharmacol. 7: 229–237 (1971).
L. S. Lerman. Structural considerations in the interaction of DNA and acridines.J. Mol. Biol. 3: 18–30 (1961).
A. H. Potts. The concentration of phenothiazines in the eye of experimental animals.Invest. Ophthalmol. 1: 522–530 (1962).
H. Bernstein, N. Zvaifler, M. Rubin, and A. M. Mansour. The ocular deposition of chloroquine.Invest. Ophthalmol. 2: 384–392 (1963).
W. H. Beierwaltes, L. M. Lieberman, V. M. Varma, and R. E. Counsell. Visualizing human malignant melanoma and metastases.JAMA 206: 97–102 (1968).
V. Horak and J. R. Gillette. A study of the oxidation-reduction state of synthetic 3,4-dihydroxy-dl-phenylalanine melanin.Mol. Pharmacol. 7: 429–433 (1971).
J. Robinson, A. Richardson, C. G. Hunter, A. N. Crabtree, and H. J. Rees. Organochlorine insecticide content of human adipose tissue in southeastern England.Brit. J. Ind. Med. 22: 220–229 (1965).
B. B. Brodie, E. Bernstein, and L. C. Mark. The role of body fat in limiting the duration of action of thiopental.J. Pharmacol. Exptl. Therap. 105: 421–426 (1952).
B. B. Brodie, L. Aronow, and J. Axelrod. The fate of dibenzyline in the body and the role of fat in its duration of action.J. Pharmacol. Therap. 111: 21–29 (1954).
L. G. Hart and J. R. Fouts. Further studies on the stimulation of hepatic microsomal drug metabolizing enzymes by DDT and its analogs.Arch. Exptl. Pathol. Pharmakol. 249: 486–508 (1965).
R. Kuntzman, I. Tsai, and J. J. Burns. Importance of tissue and plasma binding in determining the retention of norchlorcyclizine and norcyclizine in man, dog and rat.J. Pharmacol. Exptl. Therap. 158: 332–339 (1962).
J. R. Gillette. Problems associated with the extrapolation of data fromin vitro experiments to experiments in intact animals. InImportance of Fundamental Principles in Drug Evaluation (D. H. Tedeschi and R. E. Tedeschi, eds.), Raven Press, New York, 1968, pp. 69–84.
Handbook of Tables for Mathematics, 4th ed. (S. M. Selby, ed.), Chemical Rubber Co., Cleveland, 1970, p. 14.
F. Sjoqvist. A pharmacokinetic approach to the treatment of depression. InPharmacology and Pharmacokinetics (T. Teorell, R. L. Dedrick, and P. G. Condliffe, eds.), Plenum Press, New York, 1974, pp. 315–320.
D. F. Bogdanski, T. P. Blaszkowski, and B. B. Brodie. Effects of enzyme induction on synthesis and catabolism of corticosterone in rats: Analysis by means of steady-state kinetics.J. Pharmacol. Therap. 179: 372–379 (1971).
M. H. Zweig and C. F. Chignell.Biochem. Pharmacol. 22: 2141–2150 (1973).
S. Riegelman, J. Loo, and M. Rowland. Concept of a volume of distribution and possible errors in evaluation of this parameter.J. Pharm. Sci. 57: 129–133 (1968).
M. Gibaldi, R. Nagashima, and G. Levy. Relationship between drug concentration in plasma or serum and amount of drug in the body.J. Pharm. Sci. 58: 193–197 (1969).
D. S. Riggs. InThe Mathematical Approach to Physiological Problems, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1963, pp. 212–214.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gillette, J.R. The importance of tissue distribution in pharmacokinetics. Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics 1, 497–520 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059788
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059788