Drug

A drug is a bioactive molecule that by virtue of its structure and chemical configuration can interact with protein macromolecules, generally called receptors, located in the membrane, cytoplasm or nucleus of a cell, giving rise to an action and an evident effect.

Enzymes are also considered catalytic receptors, since they are able to interact with ligands. In this case, the drugs (agonists), in this drug-receptor union, almost always involve supramolecular unions, that is, non-covalent, high-energy unions. (about 60 kcal mol), but rather weaker and reversible bonds such as hydrophobic, Van der Waals, or hydrogen bonding.

Modernly, in the design of new drugs, descriptors are used, which categorize a molecule by electronic, geometric, quantum, thermodynamic and connectivity aspects, which makes possible the use of computer tools in the design of referential structures or series heads.

When the drug, which is the active principle, is presented as a specific pharmaceutical form, it is called a medication; Technological manufacturing contingents are already included here, which will determine adequate bioavailability and stability of that presentation, that is, good absorption in a period of time, and not chemical or physical-chemical degradation that affects its functioning in a living organism, that is, without impair adequate absorption, pass from the biopharmaceutical phase to the pharmacokinetic phase that determines the successful arrival of a bioactive molecule to the biophase or site of action, at concentration levels that guarantee an effect.

Today, the tremendous progress in proteonomics and the consequent alterations that proteins can suffer mainly in their tertiary structures, open up new and suggestive paths in the investigation of bioactive molecules to combat dangerous infectious agents, such as viruses or bacteria, and cancer..

This definition is limited to those substances of clinical interest, that is, those used for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, mitigation and cure of diseases, and the name toxic is preferred for those substances not intended for clinical use but which they can be accidentally or intentionally absorbed; and drug for those substances of social use that are used to modify states of mind.

Drugs can be substances created by man or produced by other organisms and used by them. In this way, hormones, antibodies, interleukins and vaccines are considered drugs when administered in a pharmaceutical form. In summary, for a biologically active substance to be classified as a drug, it must be administered to the body exogenously and for medical purposes.

Pharmaceuticals are mainly sold and used in the form of medicaments, which contain the drug(s) prescribed by a physician

Etymology

The word drug comes from the Greek phármakon, which was used to name both drugs and medicines. The term pharmakon had several meanings, including: "remedy", "cure", "poison", "antidote&# 34;, "drug", "prescription", "artificial dye", "paint", etc.

Drugs can be substances identical to those produced by the body (for example, hormones obtained by genetic engineering) or industrially synthesized chemicals that do not exist in nature, but have similar areas in their molecular structure and cause a change in the activity of cells.

History

Historically, a medicinal substance, regardless of its origin or preparation, has been understood as any consumable product to which beneficial effects on humans are attributed. These medicinal substances, just like current medicines, consisted of one or more drugs, which are called active principle or active substance of said substances, to differentiate them from the elements non-medicinal that compose them.

• In the Ebers Papyrus, 1500 BC, we find a reference to the extensive use of substances for medicinal use in ancient Egypt.

• In the centuryI of our age, Dioscorides wrote Medicala treaty with more than 700 substances medically used.

• Nowadays, drugs are issued in the form of medicines, which contain one or more active principles, differing from excipients and solvents used in their manufacture. Pharmaceutical laboratories use commercial names, since the active principle has a denomination that is of public domain.

Nomenclature

In addition to the chemical name of a drug, manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, together with scientific and academic institutions, assign it an official international name, the International Nonproprietary Name of the drug. However, it is often marketed by the manufacturer under a proprietary (or trade) name, which can vary from country to country, which has led to a great deal of confusion regarding the names of drugs and medicines.

To solve this, the different legislations have provided different control systems for the names of the drugs and medicines that are sold.

Medications

Medication is understood as the state under which a drug is presented for practical use for the consideration of maximum therapeutic benefit for the individual and minimizing undesirable side effects.

A medication is the sum of a pharmaceutical form and its packaging (packaging, labeling, carton, package insert).

The primary packaging is that container or any other form of packaging that is in direct contact with the drug or pharmaceutical form (blister, tube, bottle, etc). The secondary packaging is the outer packaging in which the primary packaging is found (case, box, leaflet, etc.)

The pharmaceutical forms are the active principles plus the excipients. They are a semi-finished product in presentation:

• Liquids:

Dissolution, syrup, suspension, medicinal stains, infusions, aerosols, collision, injecting and parenteral infusion, extract, emulsion, enema, colutorios and gargarism.

• Solid:

Powders, granulates, tablets, grageas, capsules, pills or homeopathic blood cell.

• Semi-lidas:

Emulsion, pasta, cream, ointment, ointment, gels, lotions, suppositories, ovules, jellys and contraceptive creams and liniments.

• Other:

Nanosuspension, emplast, transdermal devices, sprinklers, inhalers and implants.

The trade names of medicines vary in many countries even when they have the same drug; For this reason, the name of the medicine is used together with the name of the drug.

Characteristics of drugs

Drugs can be synthesized or extracted from a living organism, in the latter case, the drug must be purified and/or chemically modified, before being considered as such.

The activity of a drug varies due to its nature, but it is always related to the amount ingested or absorbed. For example, oncology drugs, which cure cancer, are known as high potent active ingredients, and are used in very small concentrations to cure some special type of cancer. Each of them causes multiple side effects and overdosing can negatively affect healthy cells; such is the case of oxaliplatin, letrozole, cisplatin, anastrozole, etc.

Therapeutic categories

Mould for suppositories.

• Analgesic (against pain)
• Anesthetic (to numb patients in surgery)
• Ansiolithic (against anxiety)
• Antibiotic (against bacterial infections)
• Anticolinergic (with effects on the nervous system)
• Birth Control (to prevent pregnancy)
• Anticonvulsant (against seizures and other symptoms of epilepsy)
• Antidepressant (against depression)
• Antidiabetic (to reduce blood glucose levels)
• Antiemetic (against vomiting)
• Antihelmintic (against intestinal infections caused by worms and worms (helmintiasis)
• Antihypertensive (to reduce blood pressure)
• Antihistamine (against allergies)
• Antineoplastic (against tumors or neoplasms)
• Anti-inflammatory (against inflammation)
• Antiparkinsonian (against symptoms of Parkinson's disease)
• Antimicotic (against mushrooms)
• Antipyrethic (against fever)
• Antipsychotic (against symptoms of different types of psychosis and other mental/emotional conditions)
• Antitusive (against cough)
• Antidote (against the effects of poisons)
• Bronchodilator (to dilate bronchus; useful in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD))
• Cardiotonic (to strengthen the heart muscle)
• Cytostatic or cytotoxic or chemotherapy (to interrupt cell division; useful in the treatment of cancer)
• Hypnotic (for relaxation, sedation, tranquility or sleep in patients with anxiety or sleeping problems)
• Hormonorapic (to resolve imbalances in hormonal operation)
• Chemotherapy (for the treatment of cancerous tumors)
• Muscle relaxant (for muscle relaxation)

Medicinal plants

They are herbal phytosanitary products. The active ingredient can be the result of the interaction of a variety of components that act both on a pathogen and on a variety of body systems involved in immunity.

The active pharmaceutical ingredient may be unknown or cofactors may exist, in order to achieve therapeutic goals. One way manufacturers have tried to indicate this is the normalization of a composite marker. However standardization has not been standardized yet: different companies use different markers, or different levels of the same markers, or different assay methods for marker compounds.

For example, St. John's wort is often normalized to hypericin which is now known not to be the "active ingredient" for the use of antidepressants. Other companies normalize it to hyperforin or both, although there may be as many as 24 possible known active ingredients. Many herbalists believe that the active ingredient in a plant is the plant itself.

Pharmaceuticals as contaminants

Contamination of water by medicines

The risk of this type of contamination is not fully known, but in recent years research has begun on its effects and how to eliminate them.

Analgesics, anti-inflammatories, contraceptives, antibiotics and other products that fill medicine cabinets and that are taken with some regularity end up in the waters of rivers, lakes, etc.

The amounts recorded so far do not pose a risk to human health, but the risk of interaction between the different substances is worrisome.

When a drug is ingested, a large part of the active compound is excreted through urine and feces, ending up in wastewater that reaches treatment plants for treatment. The problem is that the treatments in these purification plants are not enough to extract the drug residues in their entirety, which is why they end up traveling to rivers, lakes, seas, aquifers and, in the end, although in small quantities, they end up in our taps.

It is estimated that more than 20 drugs of variable composition depending on the country are found in wastewater.

Drugs such as the cholesterol regulators clofibric acid and gemfibrozil, the pain relievers naproxen and diclofenac, the anti-inflammatory ibuprofen, the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine and the beta-blocker atenolol have been detected in wastewater in Spain.

The study reveals that even the caffeine taken with coffee can end up in these waters. Quantities of an antibacterial disinfectant such as triclosan have been detected, which is incorporated into many detergents and is worrying as it could generate resistance in bacteria. The concentration of these residues does not pose a risk to human health, but what is worrying is that there may be a large number of drugs in each liter that may even interact with each other.

Another very important effect is the cumulative effect on ecosystems. A well-founded fear is that the constant exposure of microorganisms in the ecosystem to antimicrobials could generate pathogens resistant to these drugs, jeopardizing the treatment of future infections.

No less important are the effects of birth control pills and hormonal treatments that remain active when they reach the environment and can alter the endocrine system of organisms.

Methods for the elimination of drug residues in water are being studied, including treatment with ozone.

An important measure to take into account would be not to waste water in order to send a smaller volume of water to the treatment plants so that it can be treated effectively.