What is Protein Binding?
Protein binding generally refers to the binding of a drug to proteins in blood plasma. The interaction can also be between the drug and tissue membranes, red blood cells, and other components of the blood. The amount of drug bound to protein determines how effective the drug is in the body. The bound drug is kept in the blood stream while the unbound components of the drug may be metabolized or extracted, making them the active part of the drug. So, if a drug is 95% bound to a binding protein and 5% is free, that means that 5% of the drug is active in the system and causing pharmacological effects. Protein binding is often reversible and thus creates a chemical equilibrium, in which the chemical reaction can go backward and forward with no net change in reactants and products. This means that a cell that is effective at extracting the unbound drug may extract more of the drug as it disassociates in the course of achieving equilibrium. The equation for reversible protein binding is: Pro
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