Fluconazole amphipathic?

[JVU]

I have my first bryopsis outbreak, luckily a very small amount at this point. Seems like fluconazole is the miracle cure of choice now so I ordered some and will be treating soon. One thing the online discussions haven’t settled on is whether or not to stop skimming (or collecting skimmate) during treatment. I appreciate that practical experience often is more important than theory in this hobby, but since there isn’t a definitive consensus yet, I wanted to ask about if from the theoretical chemistry point of view.

So, since skimmers remove amphipathic organic molecules for a living, not pure hydrophobic or hydrophyllic molecules, I was wondering if Randy or one of the other awesome chemistry-types here knows where fluconazole falls in the skimmable spectrum. If the drug doesn’t skim out appreciably I’ll just leave it running.

Thanks!

 

[Jose Mayo]

Fluconazole is less lipophilic and more hydrophilic than its congeners "triazoles" (it is a polar molecule), so it is soluble in water, which its counterparts are not. Unlike other triazoles, it has low binding to proteins and therefore has greater availability. When you dose Fluconazole into the aquarium with the skimmer on, the amount of foam increases, so it is in the foam and can be drawn from the water by the skimmer.

Best regards

 

[JVU]

Thank you!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Based on the structure, fluconazole looks skimmable to me.

 

[JVU]

Jose and Randy, thank you very much for the quick responses and helpful info! I’ll keep the collection cup off for the first week or two and let it flow over, maybe keep the bubbles going for aeration.

John