It’s natural for people to prefer being healthy over being sick, which prompts them to be responsible with their medication. In some cases, people might take an extra pill to achieve wellness sooner, but that extra pill might be harmful more than helpful. Why? The human body can only tolerate a certain amount of drugs, so the accumulation of medicine could start to harm and disturb your body’s systems. It’s similar to cooking, you can put salt into your food as much as you want, but at a certain point you overshoot the ideal amount of salt, and the food becomes too salty to be enjoyable.

Before we can understand the role of the pKa in drug overdosing, we need to understand the concept of pKa and its effects on absorption and excretion. pKa is a value that indicates the acidity and basicity in a balanced aqueous solution. To absorb the medicine you take, the molecules inside the drug must not have an electrical charge, which allows them to pass through our membrane.

 

4

 

Specifically, the electrical charge of the medicine is dependent upon the pKa of itself and the surrounding pH [1].For example, acidic medicines are uncharged around acidic compartments and basic medicines are uncharged around basic compartments, allowing them to cross the membrane. On the other hand, acidic drugs will become charged when surrounded by basic compartments and cannot be absorbed anymore. This is similar to basic drugs, which will become charged when surrounded by acidic compartments.

By knowing the pKa of a drug and pH of certain body compartment, you will able to calculate how many drugs will be electrically charged or not, excreted or absorbed by using Henderson–Hasselbalch equation:
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How do drugs leave our body system? Drug are usually filtered out by the renal tubule, which is in the kidney. Electrically charged molecules inside can easily slip out, but uncharged molecules are reabsorbed back into the bloodstream and continue affecting your body [4].

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If you overdose on a drug, these extra uncharged molecules will start to disturb your body’s systems [3]. To minimize the damage, the doctor might administer medicine that affects the pH of your blood. In the case of overdose methamphetamine, ammonium chloride can be used to lower the pH of the patient’s urine which electrically charges the methamphetamine molecules [3]. Eventually, these charged molecules will remain in the renal tubule and pass out of the body through urination.

 

3
Figure: Mean cumulative urinary excretion of methamphetamine (11 mg oral dose) in men as a function of urine pH. [Beckett AH. Rowland M 1965]

 

In conclusion, medicine can both improve and worsen a person’s wellbeing. Hopefully, this explanation of pKa will give you a general idea of how medicine works and a heightened sense of caution when managing your medicine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference List

[1] Count Dracula 2015, Science, ‘Role of ph and pka in Drug Absorption‘ viewed on 26 April 2018, < https://drugs-bd.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/role-of-ph-and-pka-in-drug-absorption.html?q=pKa>

[2] David, T. M. 2007, ‘The pKa distribution of drugs: application to drugs discovery’, National Center for Biotechnology Information, vol. 1, pp 25-38.

[3] Pharmwiki 2010, ‘pH effect on drug elimination’, viewed on 26 April 2018,<http://tmedweb.tulane.edu/pharmwiki/doku.php/ph_effect_on_drug_elimination>

[4] Raymond, J.S.H.& Neill, J. 1997. Influence of pH on drug absorption from the gastrointestinal tract: a simple chemical model’, Journal of Chemical Education, vol. 75, n. 7, pp855.

Image:

[5] Beckett, A.H. & Rowland, M. 1965, Mean Cumulative Urinary Excretion of Methamphetamine (11 mg oral dose) in Men as a Function of Urine pH,  Pharmwiki, <http://tmedweb.tulane.edu/pharmwiki/doku.php/ph_effect_on_drug_elimination>

 

 

 

 

 

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  • It is steady in improving the metabolic strength of the body and in this way assists the body with disposing of the overabundance fat and flush out the entirety of the terrible cholesterol. java burn

  • The pKa of a drug is the pH at which half of the drug is in its ionized form and half is in its non-ionized form. This is a measure of the drug’s acidity or basicity

  • By leveraging the pKa value, healthcare providers can tailor treatments to enhance drug elimination and mitigate toxic effects, improving patient outcomes in critical situations.

  • The pKa of a drug is the pH at which the drug is 50% ionized and 50% non-ionized. The ionization of a drug affects its absorption, distribution, and elimination. Drugs with different pKa values behave differently in various bodily compartments (like the stomach or blood), influencing their toxicity and how they can be treated.

  • This strategic approach optimizes treatment outcomes and reduces the risk of prolonged toxicity, highlighting the importance of pharmacokinetic principles in overdose management.

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  • For instance, in the case of an acidic drug overdose, alkalizing the urine with sodium bicarbonate can increase the ionized form of the drug, reducing its reabsorption in the kidneys and promoting its elimination.

  • For weak acids, making the urine more alkaline can help convert the drug into its ionized form, which is less reabsorbed and thus more easily excreted.

  • The explanation is excellent, but do you think readers who are not experts in mathematics will find the H-H equation too complex? For more intrigue and details to support your argument, you may also give an example of a substance and the symptoms of an overdose that accompany it. All in all, I find it to be rather readable and simple to understand.

  • The explanation is very clear, but do you think the H-H equation might be too complex for laypeople reading the blog? You might consider adding an example of a drug along with its overdose symptoms to make the content more engaging and informative. Overall, the blog is easy to understand and enjoyable to read.

  • Understanding the pKa of drugs is crucial in managing overdoses effectively, as it determines their ionization state and solubility,

  • The explanation is really good but do you think the H-H equation is too much for laypeople reading the blog? You could also include an example of a drug and the overdose symptoms that come with it for added interest and extra information to further solidify your point. Overall I think it is easy to understand and nice to read.

  • Understanding a drug’s pKa is crucial in overdose treatment, as it allows for strategic manipulation of the body’s pH to enhance drug excretion.

  • This application of pharmacokinetics not only improves the efficacy of overdose treatments but also exemplifies the precision and sophistication of modern medical interventions.

  • It’s a testament to the intricate interplay between chemistry and medicine in addressing complex clinical challenges.

  • This knowledge empowers healthcare providers to tailor interventions, such as adjusting pH levels or administering specific medications, to optimize treatment outcomes and mitigate the harmful effects of overdose.

  • It’s like orchestrating a delicate dance between chemistry and medicine to bring balance back to the body’s equilibrium.

  • By knowing the pKa, healthcare providers can manipulate the body’s pH to enhance the drug’s ionization, making it less absorbable and easier to excrete.

  • It’s fascinating to see how understanding the acid-base properties of drugs can be a game-changer in emergency medical treatments.

  • Understanding drug pKa in treating overdoses is like wielding a precision tool in a delicate operation. By leveraging the pKa,

  • We leverage drug pKa to treat overdoses by understanding their ionization state in the body, aiding in drug elimination or enhancing excretion,

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  • pKa facilitates drug absorption and, by modifying pH levels, aids in the treatment of excesses.

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  • pKa helps determine drug absorption, aiding treatment for overdoses by altering pH levels.

  • pKa helps determine drug absorption, aiding treatment for overdoses by altering pH levels.

  • pKa influences drug absorption. Overdose management involves altering pH to modify drug charge, aiding elimination and minimizing adverse effects.

  • I like the salt analogy however I’m really confused by the hand drawn diagram so it may be of use to try and make that clearer and easier to understand

  • The first paragraph was engaging and included a good colloquial language for every reader to understand. I do think however you could include a bit more text that goes further into depth about pKa and pH including how they differ in definition with sub headings so the reader is not lost as they read through the blog and look at the diagrams. The quality is good it’s just missing a bit more quantity

  • You need to have some headings and subheading when you submit the final version. If you do it as a pdf it will be easier to format. I don’t think you clearly define the difference between pH and pKa you might want to think about that. Some of your sources are unreliable Ziyao. I would probably expect about twice this amount of text in a 2 page blog so maybe you can develop the ideas a bit more.

  • This is good quality information in the body. Really good salt analogy. With the first diagram, maybe label more so it is easer to understand what it is, what is happening and what is the inside and the outside of the (cell??). The explanation is really good but do you think the H-H equation is too much for laypeople reading the blog? You could also include an example of a drug and the overdose symptoms that come with it for added interest and extra information to further solidify your point. Overall I think it is easy to understand and nice to read.

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