Abstract
Atracurium is a neuromuscular blocking agent with the structure shown overleaf. It was designed to undergo rapid non-enzymic inactivation at physiological pH and temperature by a process of Hofmann elimination [1], which is advantageous because a drug which relies upon metabolism or excretion to terminate its actions may have a prolonged effect in patients with hepatic or renal insufficiency. In this elimination, a quaternary amine becomes tertiary [2] (Fig. 1).
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References
Hughes, R. & Chappie, D.J. (1981)Br. J. Anaesth. 53, 31–44.
Geissman, T.A. (1977) Principles of Organic Chemistry, 4th edn., Freeman, San Francisco, 1035 pp
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© 1983 Plenum Press, New York
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Neill, E.A.M. (1983). A Note on Determination of Atracurium and Its Metabolites. In: Reid, E., Leppard, J.P. (eds) Drug Metabolite Isolation and Determination. Methodological Surveys in Biochemistry and Analysis, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4484-1_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4484-1_29
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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