C
min is a term used in
pharmacokinetic
Pharmacokinetics (from Ancient Greek ''pharmakon'' "drug" and ''kinetikos'' "moving, putting in motion"; see chemical kinetics), sometimes abbreviated as PK, is a branch of pharmacology dedicated to determining the fate of substances administered ...
s for the minimum
blood plasma concentration reached by a drug during the time interval between administration of two doses. This definition is slightly different from
Ctrough, the concentration immediately prior to administration of the next dose. C
min is the opposite of
Cmax, the maximum concentration that the drug reaches. C
min must be above certain thresholds, such as the
minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), to achieve a
therapeutic effect.
In most cases C
min is directly measurable. At steady state the minimum plasma concentration can also be calculated using the following equation:
:
:''S'': salt factor
:''F'':
bioavailability
:''D'': dose
:''k'': elimination constant
:''k
a'': absorption constant
:''V
d'':
volume of distribution
:''τ'': dosing interval
C
min is also an important parameter in
bioavailability and
bioequivalence studies, it is part of the pharmacokinetic information recommended for submission of
investigational new drug applications.
[https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/.../Guidances/ucm070124.pdf ]
References
Pharmacokinetic metrics
{{pharmacology-stub