Elimination reactions in pharmacy: part two

Here is another example of elimination in pharmacy.

Curare is a type of drug called a muscle relaxant. It acts by blocking nerve impulses at the neuromuscular junction thus causing the muscle to relax. Such drugs are very useful during surgery when the patient needs to be immobilised. The downside to curare is that it takes a long time for the effect to wear off after surgery and can cause respiratory depression. The effect would only wear off after the drug gets metabolised – that is it gets changed in the body – to a not active form. (Metabolism is a process where a drug is changed to another form when it enters our body).

Curare is a drug used to relax the muscles during a surgery. Its effect is slow to wear off after surgery
and may cause inconvenience such as breathing suppression.

Newer muscle relaxants such as atracurium have been developed that has a built-in functional group that allows the drug to rapidly metabolised or changed into an inactive form. One such change involves an elimination reaction of the quarternary ammonium group of the drug

(Refer to notes on elimination of amines).