ABSTRACT
This chapter considers those examples of drugs which act directly on the cell membrane, whether mammalian or fungal. The processes concerned govern the transport of ions across the cell membrane in either direction, and are either channels through which ions pass, or require the hydrolysis of ATP to drive various ions across the membrane. Alternatively, the drug may disrupt the membrane of a pathogenic organism in such a way that it becomes highly permeable to small molecules and consequently loses its effectiveness as a semi-permeable membrane. These effects may all be regarded as direct; indirect effects, whereby a drug binds to a receptor which subsequently modulates membrane permeability, are discussed in Chapter 9.
