OPTIMAL CONTROL OF THE CONCENTRATION OF DORIPENEM TO KILL P. AERUGINOSA STRAINS

Pharmacodynamics (PD) describes a drug's effect on a medium (such as bacteria or tumors), while pharmacokinetics (PK) describes how a drug moves throughout and is processed by the body (along with changes in drug concentration). Taken together, we construct a PK/PD mathematical model using ordinary differential equations to describe our system of Doripenem administration to kill P. aeruginosa. We apply optimal control theory to investigate an alternative dosing strategy of continuous drug infusion, and analyze its impact on bacterial counts, drug amounts, and drug concentration. Using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, we show that such an optimal solution exists under certain assumptions and present numerical solutions that confirm the effectiveness of this particular strategy of regulating the drug infusion rate.