Pharmaceuticals, interactive design

In an effort to put powder flow studies and hopper design on a more fundamental basis, Jenike [45] developed a powder shear tester and methodology that permits an assessment of powder flow properties as a function of consolidation load and time as well as powder-hopper material interactions. The methodology has been used extensively in the study of pharmaceutical materials [39,58-61]. From the yield loci obtained using this method, several parameters can be determined that influence powder flow, and discussions of these points are well documented in the literature [49,62,63]. 

Apart from patient-specific parameters, external factors - most importantly the concomitant uptake of certain other chemicals present in diet, environment and especially other drugs - influence drug actions. Possible effects are manifold and can affect all stages of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in the body. Also direct interaction and inactivation of concomitantly administered substances are possible. Drug-drug interactions via modulation of metabolism present a very hot topic in pharmaceutical research and drug design. 

Many large proteins exert biological activity of pharmaceutical interest. In the drug design process the biological activity is often associated with an interaction mediated by certain residues or domains. Peptides made from these residues or domains often exhibit the same activity and can be used to derive novel compounds. 

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