Drugs and receptors

which drugs can interact: enzymes (e.g. neostigmine and acetyl cholinesterase), membrane carriers (e.g. tricyclic antidepressants and catecholamine uptake-1), ion channels (e.g. nimodipine and voltage-gated Ca2þ channels) and receptors. This article is concerned with the receptor and describes the dynamics of drug–receptor interaction, agonists, antagonists, partial agonists and inverse agonists, efficacy and potency. Key definitions are shown in Table 1.