Homologous: bodies, 129 series

Blakey GE, Nestorov lA, Arundel PA, Aarons LJ, Rowland M. Quantitative structure-pharmacokinetics relationships I. Development of a whole-body physiologically based model to characterize changes in pharmacokinetics across a homologous series of barbiturates in the rat. J Pharmacokinet Biopharm 1997 Jun 25(3) 277-312. Erratum in J Pharmacokinet Biopharm 1998 Feb 26(l) 131. 

Structurally non-specific agents seem to act by becoming accumulated in some vitally important part of a cell, thus disorganizing a chain of metabolic processes. In short, they act simply as foreign bodies. Obviously they owe the property of being accumulated by cells to a favourable physical property conferred upon them by their chemical constitution. The required physical property depends only on the balance between two common variables in molecular structure, namely hydrophilic atoms and lipophilic atoms. Suitable proportions of these atoms can always be reached by ascending innumerable homologous series of many different chemical types. 

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