Drug

Synonyms

Drugs (pharmaceuticals) for disease control

Definition

A drug is a biologically active material that is used for disease control. It may consist of a water-soluble or oil-soluble substance, an oil, or a solid. The drug needs to be formulated in a suitable form for convenient application. For water-soluble drugs, they can be formulated as a simple aqueous solution. For an oil-soluble drug, a pharmaceutically acceptable inert oil is used to dissolve the active ingredient. This oily solution can be directly administered or emulsified in water using a pharmaceutically acceptable surfactant. Solid drugs can be formulated as tablets (using inert and pharmaceutically acceptable material) or as a solid/liquid dispersion (suspension). A pharmaceutically acceptable dispersant is used to prepare the suspension. The drug formulation can be administered orally, subcutaneously, or intravenously. Before approval by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the drug is subjected to various in...