Drugs used to bind to receptors, inhibiting is natural function and blocking a message are called:

Solution

Chemistry ma’am · 3 steps

Ask what the drug does once it sits on the receptor: pass the message on, or block it?

1. How receptors work. A receptor sits in the cell membrane. When the body's natural chemical messenger binds to it, the receptor changes shape and passes the message into the cell.
2. Two kinds of drugs. Some drugs bind to the receptor and copy the natural messenger, so the message still gets through. Others bind to the same site but do not switch the receptor on. They only occupy it, so the natural messenger cannot get in and the message is blocked.

   Drug type	What it does at the receptor	Message
   Agonist	Mimics the natural messenger and switches the receptor on	passed on
   Antagonist	Binds, does not switch the receptor on, and stops its natural function	blocked

3. So. Drugs that bind to receptors, stop their natural function and block the message are antagonists, option (b). They are useful when a message must be stopped, for example when too much messenger is being released.

The idea to keep. At a receptor, an agonist copies the messenger and passes the message on. An antagonist sits on the receptor and blocks it. Antagonist means against.

Answer from the NTA final answer key. Solution by PrepWiser.