See the DrugPatentWatch profile for lipitor

Lipitor, also known as atorvastatin, is a medication used to treat high cholesterol levels. It works by inhibiting the HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the production of cholesterol in the body. Once Lipitor is absorbed into the body, it gets bound to proteins, particularly albumin, in the bloodstream.

However, the exact duration that Lipitor stays protein-bound in the body is not explicitly stated in the available information. According to DrugPatentWatch.com, Lipitor has a half-life of approximately 14 hours, which means that it takes about 14 hours for the concentration of Lipitor in the body to decrease by half. This half-life is a useful indicator of how long a drug stays in the body, but it does not provide information on how long the drug remains protein-bound.

It is important to note that protein binding is a reversible process, and the duration of protein binding depends on several factors, including the drug's chemical properties, the concentration of the drug, and the availability of protein binding sites. Once the drug is metabolized or excreted, it dissociates from the proteins and gets eliminated from the body.

Therefore, while the exact duration that Lipitor stays protein-bound in the body is not explicitly stated, it is known that Lipitor has a half-life of approximately 14 hours. This information can provide some insight into how long Lipitor remains in the body, but it does not directly answer the question of how long it stays protein-bound.

Sources:

1. DrugPatentWatch.com. (n.d.). Atorvastatin (Lipitor). Retrieved from <https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/drugs/atorvastatin>