Pharmacodynamic in vitro models to determine the effect of antibiotics

Abstract

Pharmacodynamic in vitro models are widely used to evaluate the antibiotic effect against microorganisms. With them it is possible to have full control of the drug profile (static or dynamic) within the system and to obtain the correspondent effect at a certain time period. Based on the experimental conditions and results a mathematical model describing the relationships between the effective concentration of the drug, the pharmacological effect, and time can be obtained. By means of simulations from the model it is possible to simulate and predict effects that optimize the treatment for defining the optimal dosage regimens. Once this information is available it can be used to support dose selection in a more rational manner. As a prerequisite, it is important to evaluate the different pharmacodynamic models, considering the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the objective of the proposed study. Therefore this review focuses on the description of the general requirements for pharmacodynamic models providing an overview on up to now developed in vitro models.