424 



8. INHIBITOR DISTRIBUTION IN LIVING ORGANISMS 



inhibitor concentration in a tissue is desired over a period of time, instead 

 of a continuously changing concentration as after a single dose, it is pos- 

 sible to determine the dosage and interval to achieve this on the basis of very 

 little basic data (the concentration or effect produced by a certain dose 



100 - 



TIME ► 



Fig. 8-9. Increases in the internal inhibitor concentration with 

 the number of administrations and with the time for different 

 intervals between the doses (Eq. 8-30). (I)o = 10 mM and k = \. 

 Curve 1: At = 0.1; curve 2: At = 0.25; curve 3: At = 0.5; curve 

 4: At = 1; curve 5: At = 2; curve 6: At = 3. 



and the rate of disappearance of the inhibitor). Although many factors may 

 modify the above simple treatment, whatever the mechanisms involved in 

 the time course of inhibitor effect, the principle of superposition of curves 

 and final constant levels is valid. One important complication may, how- 

 ever, be mentioned. When the peak concentration from a single administra- 

 tion is not reached immediately, but follows a curve such as discussed in the 

 previous section, it might seem that the behavior of the system would 



