An irreversible agonist is a type of
agonist
An agonist is a chemical that activates a Receptor (biochemistry), receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are Cell (biology), cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an R ...
that binds permanently to a receptor in such a manner that the receptor is permanently activated. It is distinct from a mere (reversible) agonist in that the association of an agonist to a receptor is reversible, whereas the binding of an irreversible agonist to a receptor is, at least in theory, irreversible. Oxymorphazone is an example of an irreversible agonist.
In practice, the distinction may be more a matter of degree, in which the binding affinity of an irreversible agonist is some orders of magnitude greater than that of an agonist.
Examples
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Oxymorphazone
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Metaphit
See also
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Agonist
An agonist is a chemical that activates a Receptor (biochemistry), receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are Cell (biology), cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an R ...
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Irreversible antagonist
An irreversible antagonist is a type of antagonist that binds permanently to a receptor, either by forming a covalent bond to the active site, or alternatively just by binding so tightly that the rate of dissociation is effectively zero at relevan ...
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Irreversible enzyme inhibitor
References
Receptor agonists
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