In vitro studies on the blood distribution of almitrine.

Blood binding of almitrine, a highly lipophilic drug, was investigated in vitro. [3H]-Almitrine was incubated in a serum pool and isolated protein and lipoprotein fractions. The investigations were performed by using ultracentrifugation and another method which measures the uptake by proteins from glass beads coated with almitrine.

Problems in therapeutic drug monitoring: free drug level monitoring.

Historically, it has been assumed that only free drug concentration is the pharmacologically active species. This article reviews the theoretical pharmacological and pharmacokinetic justifications for monitoring free drug levels. The determinants likely to influence plasma protein binding and the free concentrations of drugs are delineated.