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→Agonists
* The biological response of resulting from an agonist is proportional to the number of receptors occupied. The size of a response can be measured and plotted against the dose/concentration of the agonist. As the size of a response normally increasee in a non-linear manner (until the maximum is reached) the response is normally plotted against the log of the concentration.
* The biological response of resulting from an agonist is proportional to the number of receptors occupied. The size of a response can be measured and plotted against the dose/concentration of the agonist. As the size of a response normally increasee in a non-linear manner (until the maximum is reached) the response is normally plotted against the log of the concentration.
'''Please Insert Appropriate Graphs'''
From these graphs two figures can be achieved, the '''ED50''' or '''EC50'''. The ED50 is the effective dose at which 50% of a maximal response occurs or 50% of individuals respond. The EC50 is the same but is the effective concentration. Agonists with higher affinities will have a lower concentration and so EC50 than an agonist with a lower affinity. The first drug is therfore said to be more '''potent'''.
The '''potency''' of a drug is very important clinically as it will determine the dose needed to have the desired clinical effect. Often if a drug is more potent it is usally more selective to which target molecules it binds to.
===Full and Partial Agonists===