A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for diazepam disposition was developed in the rat, incorporating anatomical, physiological, and biochemical parameters, i.e., tissue volume, blood flow rate, serum free fraction, distribution of diazepam into red blood cells, drug metabolism and tissue-to-blood distribution ratio. The serum free fraction of diazepam was determined by equilibrium dialysis at 37 degrees C and was constant over a wide concentration range. Partition of diazepam between plasma and erythrocytes was determined in vitro at 37 degrees C, and the resultant blood-to-plasma concentration ratio was constant over a wide concentration range. The enzymatic parameters (Km, Vmax) of the eliminating organs, i.e., liver, kidney, and lung, previously determined using microsomes, were used for the prediction. The tissue-to-blood distribution ratios inferred by inspection of the data when pseudoequilibrium is reached after i.v. bolus injection of 1.2 mg/kg diazepam were corrected according to the method of Chen and Gross. Predicted diazepam concentration time-course profiles in plasma and various organs or tissues, using an 11-compartmental model, were compared with those observed. Prediction was successful in all compartments including brain, the target organ of diazepam. Scale-up of the disposition kinetics of diazepam from rat to man was also successful.

Lansoprazole fast-disintegrating tablets (LFDT) are a patient-friendly formulation that rapidly disintegrates in the mouth. LFDT consist of enteric-coated microgranules (mean particle size, approximately 300 m mm) and inactive granules. In the design of the inactive granules, mannitol was used as a basic excipient.

A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model, which is an extension of the Bischoff-Dedrick multiorgan model, was developed to described the kinetics of barbiturates (hexobarbital, phenobarbital, and thiopental) in the rat. The model is composed of 11 organ or tissue compartments. The brain compartment was featured as a nonflow-limited organ for some low lipid soluble barbiturates. Michaelis-Menten constants for drug metabolism (Km, Vmax) were determined from in vitro experiments using liver microsomes. Binding of drugs to plasma and tissue proteins was measured in vitro using an equilibrium dialysis method. Distribution of drugs to red blood cells was measured in vitro with thiopental exhibiting a concentration dependent distribution. Penetration rates of the barbiturates into the brain were predicted on the basis of their lipid solubilities. A set of mass balance equations included terms for the inflow and outflow of drug carried by the perfusing blood, drug metabolism, protein binding, and penetration rate into the brain as well as blood flow rate and tissue mass. Solution of the system of equations yielded the time courses of drugs in each organ. However, predicted time course of drugs in plasma and brain were not in good agreement with those observed. Therefore, the tissue to plasma distribution ratios evaluated from in vivo experiments were substituted for the in vitro values, resulting in fairly good agreement between predicted and observed values.

No abstract

No abstract