In
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
, biological activity or pharmacological activity describes the beneficial or adverse effects of a
drug
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
on
living matter. When a drug is a complex chemical mixture, this activity is exerted by the substance's
active ingredient or
pharmacophore but can be modified by the other constituents. Among the various properties of chemical compounds, pharmacological/biological activity plays a crucial role since it suggests uses of the compounds in the medical applications. However, chemical compounds may show some adverse and toxic effects which may prevent their use in medical practice.
Activity is generally
dosage-dependent. Further, it is common to have effects ranging from beneficial to adverse
for one substance when going from low to high doses. Activity depends critically on fulfillment of the
ADME
ADME is an abbreviation in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology for " absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion", and describes the disposition of a pharmaceutical compound within an organism. The four criteria all influence the drug le ...
criteria. To be an effective drug, a compound not only must be active against a target, but also possess the appropriate ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion) properties necessary to make it suitable for use as a drug.
Bioactivity is a key property that promotes osseointegration for bonding and better stability of dental implants.
Bioglass coatings represent high surface area and reactivity leading to an effective interaction of the coating material and surrounding bone tissues. In the biological environment, the formation of a layer of
carbonated hydroxyapatite
Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.
In inorganic ch ...
(CHA) initiates bonding to the bone tissues. The bioglass surface coating undergoes
leaching/
exchange of ions, dissolution of glass, and formation of the HA layer that promotes cellular response of tissues.
The high specific surface area of bioactive glasses is likely to induce quicker solubility of the material, availability of ions in the surrounding area, and enhanced protein adsorption ability. These factors altogether contribute toward the bioactivity of bioglass coatings. In addition, tissue mineralization (bone, teeth) is promoted while tissue forming cells are in direct contact with bioglass materials.
Whereas a material is considered bioactive if it has interaction with or effect on any
cell tissue
In biology, tissue is a biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is an ensemble of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Organs are ...
in the
human body
The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...
, pharmacological activity is usually taken to describe beneficial effects, i.e. the effects of
drug candidates as well as a substance's
toxicity.
In the study of
biomineralisation, bioactivity is often meant to mean the formation of
calcium phosphate deposits on the surface of objects placed in
simulated body fluid, a
buffer solution with ion content similar to
blood.
See also
*
Chemical property
*
Chemical structure
*
Lipinski's rule of five, describing molecular properties of drugs
*
Molecular property
*
Physical property
A physical property is any property that is measurable, whose value describes a state of a physical system. The changes in the physical properties of a system can be used to describe its changes between momentary states. Physical properties are ...
*
QSAR, quantitative structure-activity relationship
References
Pharmacodynamics
Bioactivity
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