A FIVE COMPARTMENT LINEAR MAMMILLARY MODEL

Compartmental models allow us to visualise the behaviour of phenomena and simplify the formulation of some equations related to such systems. Mammillary systems are among the most interesting in pharmacokinetics. In the present study, a five compartment linear mammillary model is considered in which the central compartment 1 is connected reversibly to all other compartments, and elimination occurs from compartment 1. A reidentification of different distribution rate constants is made, with concentrations of drug in central compartment at different times of observation being known. In order to rninimise the difference between the set of given concentrations of drug and the calculated values of concentrations, an optimisation method is used which reduces the unknown parameters involved, to a single variable. Thus, the problem requires a global minimum of a function of single variable. The results obtained with present method are compared with those obtained by the generalised least squares method.