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This article describes a novel nonisotopic receptor assay for benzodiazepines with fluorescence detection, As labeled ljgand (coumarin-labeled desethylflumazenil, CLDEF), a metabolite of the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil (desetheylflumazenil, Ro15-3890) has been coupled to a coumarin fluorophore, via a spacer. CLDEF had a K-i of 6.5 nM. To avoid the interference of the background fluorescence of the receptors in the measurement step, the bound CLDEF was dissociated from the receptors after the filtration step. This dissociation was achieved by incubating the CLDEF-bound to the receptors on the filters-with a weakly acetate buffer. The second filtrates then contained the previously bound CLDEF, which was then quantitated with a RP-HPLC system with a fluorescence detector. The results with a fluorescent receptor assay were very similar to those with a radioreceptor assay, in that the IC50 values of lorazepam were 7.2 +/- 0.5 and 6.6 +/- 0.7 nM, respectively.

A number of corresponding tertiary and quaternary anticholinergic analogues were examined for their ability to inhibit specific (3)H-dexetimide binding to calf brain muscarinic receptors. In all cases the tertiary antagonists (except pirenzepine) showed steep and monophasic inhibition curves, whereas those of the quaternary derivatives were shallow (thiazinamium, methylbenactyzine) or even biphasic (oxyphenonium, methylatropine, methylscopolamine). These observations show that the addition of a methyl group to the nitrogen atom changes the mode of interaction of the anticholinergics to muscarinic receptor binding sites. Whether there are separate binding sites present or differences in interaction mode for only the quaternary moiety is discussed.

To gather more information on stereochemical factors in the hepatic disposition of organic cations, mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography was used to determine the identity of the metabolites excreted in bile after isolated rat liver perfusions with the quaternary ammonium derivatives of the enantiomeric drugs dextrorphan and levorphanol. Ionspray mass spectrometry was chosen for its soft ionization and absence of thermal degradation of labile compounds. The drugs were labelled with a stable (2H) isotope and mixed with unlabelled drugs to create an artificial isotope pattern in the mass spectrum and facilitate the recognition of unknown metabolites. In mass spectra that were recorded under normal conditions, fragmentation was absent and metabolites of N-methyl dextrorphan and N-methyl levorphanol were visible as parent-ion 'doublets'. Collision-induced fragmentation studies were performed to support the identification of the metabolites. For N-methyl dextrorphan the glucuronide, the glutathione conjugate and the glucuronide of the N-demethylated metabolite were found in bile. For N-methyl levorphanol the glucuronide, the glutathione conjugate, the sulphate conjugate and the glucuronide of a hydroxylated N-methyl levorphanol were excreted in bile. Thus a remarkable stereoselectivity occurs in the metabolism of these quaternary ammonium compounds in the rat liver.

1. The disposition and metabolic profiling of 2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin(I), a dopamine agonist, were studied in anaesthetized rats after i.v. administration and in non-anaesthetized rats after i.v. and oral dosing. No major differences due to narcosis were observed. 2. Independent of dosing route or anaesthetic, clearance of I was rapid. Bile was the main route of excretion, accounting for 88% dose, compared with 9% in urine. 3. Drug metabolic profiling revealed that I is almost completely metabolized before elimination; less than 0.5% total radioactivity in bile and urine was due to parent compound. 4. The biliary metabolic profiles after i.v. and oral administration were similar. One major metabolite was detected, accounting for 50% (i.v.) or 65% (oral) dose. The major biliary metabolite was identified as the glucuronide of I. 5. Urinary metabolic profiles were quantitatively different from those of bile. After i.v. administration one major metabolite was detected in urine, but this was not the major biliary metabolite. After oral administration, the major urine metabolite was the same as the major biliary metabolite. These differences can be explained by first-pass gastro-intestinal metabolism.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was directly coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) to assess the feasibility of the system for the rapid determination of prednisolone in serum. A C(18) stationary phase allowed washing of the cartridge with 25% methanol. Elution was performed by switching the methanol percentage from 25% in the washing step to 50% during elution. The high flow-rates during the extraction (5.0 ml/min) combined with ion-trap MS detection resulted in a total analysis time of 4 min. Some tailing of the prednisolone peak was observed. However, the tailing was found acceptable, since by this elution procedure most matrix compounds were prevented from eluting from the cartridge. Some matrix interference was still observed with a triple-quadrupole MS, even in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. This resulted in a detection limit (LOD) of about 10 ng/ml. The matrix interference and the LOD were similar for atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and atmospheric pressure photo ionisation. Applying an ion-trap MS in the MS-MS mode resulted in cleaner chromatograms. Due to extensive fragmentation of prednisolone, the LOD was not lower than about 5 ng/ml prednisolone in serum, and a limit of quantitation of about 10 ng/ml (relative standard deviation15%) was observed.

Ion suppression effects were observed during the determination of clenbuterol in urine with solid-phase extraction/multiple-stage ion-trap mass spectrometry (SPE/MS(3)), despite the use of atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation. During SPE, a polymeric stationary phase (polydivinylbenzene) was applied. Post-cartridge infusion of analyte to the SPE eluate after the extraction of blank urine was performed to obtain a profile of the suppression. Single and multiple-stage MS were performed to provide insight in the suppressing compounds. The ion suppression was mainly ascribed to two m/z values, but still no identification of the compounds was achieved from the multiple-stage MS data. No ionisable and non-ionisable complexes and/or precipitation of clenbuterol with matrix compounds were observed. A concentration dependence of the percentage of suppression was observed. Up to 70% of the signal was suppressed upon post-cartridge infusion of 0.22 microg/mL (at 5 microL/min) clenbuterol into the eluate, and this decreased to about 4% at infusion of 22 microg/mL clenbuterol. Molecularly imprinted polymers were used to enhance the selectivity of the extraction. Although matrix components were still present after extraction, no interference of these compounds with the analyte was observed. However, the bleeding of the imprint from the polymer (brombuterol) caused significant ion suppression.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a modern separation technique that has some distinct advantages for toxicological analysis, such as a high efficiency, fast analysis, flexibility, and complementary separation mechanisms to chromatographic methods. CE can be applied in various modes, which each have a different separation mechanism or selectivity. The most common mode is capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), in which charged analytes migrate in a buffer under the influence of an electric field. In micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), micelles are added to the buffer which interact with the analytes. MEKC can also be used for the separation of neutral compounds. In non-aqueous CE (NACE), the aqueous buffer is replaced by a background of electrolytes in organic solvents. A sample that needs to be screened can easily be analyzed subsequently by these CE modes using the same instrumentation. The aim of the study was to develop procedures for the analysis of basic and acidic drugs in serum and urine using CZE, MEKC, and NACE. A test mixture that consisted of six basic and six acidic compounds was used to study the separation behavior of five CE methods. The results showed that three methods (based on CZE, MEKC, and NACE) were suitable for the analysis of basic compounds and three methods (based on CZE and MEKC) for the analysis of acidic compounds. For the extraction of analytes from serum and urine, a solid-phase extraction (SPE) and a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method were compared. Both SPE and LLE methods provided clean extracts after extraction of the basic compounds from serum and urine. The extracts of acidic compounds contained more matrix interferences, especially for urine. The SPE method had some advantages compared to LLE, as it lead to cleaner extracts and higher peaks, and as it elutes basic and acidic compounds in one fraction. The potentials and pitfalls of the various methods for screening purposes in analytical toxicology are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review is presented on the use of charged cyclodextrins (CDs) as chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis (CE) for the separation of analytes in pharmaceutical analysis. An overview is given of theoretical models that have been developed for a better prediction of the enantiomeric resolution and for a better understanding of the separation mechanism. Several types of charged CDs have been used in chiral capillary electrophoretic separation (anionic, cationic, and amphoteric CDs). Especially the anionic CDs seem to be valuable due to the fact that many pharmaceutically interesting compounds can easily be protonated (e.g., amine groups). For that reason several anionic CDs are now commercially available. Cationic and amphoteric CDs are less common in chiral analysis and only a few are commercially available. Attention is paid to the most common synthesis routes and the characterization of the CDs used in chiral capillary electrophoretic separations. The degree of substitution in the synthesized CDs may vary from one manufacturer to another or even from batch to batch, which may have a detrimental effect on the reproducibility and ruggedness of the separation system. In Sections 4, 5, and 6 the applications of anionic, cationic, and amphoteric CDs for the chiral separation in CE are described. Many interesting examples are shown and the influence of important parameters on the enantioselectivity is discussed.

The intra- and interinstrument reproducibilities of four capillary electrophoresis instruments were studied for identification purposes in systematic toxicological analysis (STA). A test set of 20 acidic test compounds and 5 reference compounds were analyzed for five days on each instrument using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The buffers consisted of 90 mM borate set at pH 8.4 (CZE) and 20 mM phosphate and 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate set at pH 7.5 (MEKC). All analyses were carried out using fused silica capillaries at an electric field strength of 52.6 kV/m. The use of a reproducible identification parameter is very important in STA. To deal with the poor reproducibility of the migration time, we recently introduced the corrected effective mobility. In this study, we investigated the intra- and interinstrument reproducibility of the migration time, the effective mobility, and the corrected effective mobility. Large differences in intra-instrument reproducibility were found when the migration time was used. The calculation of the effective mobility and the corrected effective mobility diminished these differences and enhanced the interinstrument reproducibility roughly by a factor 3. For (corrected) effective mobilities, intrainstrument reproducibilities were between 0.8-2.6% and interinstrument reproducibilities were between 3.2-3.9%.

In this article, the binding affinities of the fluorescent-labeled benzodiazepines described in Part 1 are compared to assess the influence of the labeling position and the choice of fluorophore on the binding affinity. This comparison was extended by taking into account the data of other fluorescent-labeled benzodiazepines in the literature. The differences in the binding affinities observed could partly be explained by structure-activity relationships (SAR). On the basis of this comparison, fluorescent-labeled desethylflumazenil (Ro15-3890, 19) derivatives were selected as the most suitable labeled ligands in fluorescent receptor assays. A methyl-methoxycoumarin derivative (Mmc-O-CO-(CH2)3-Ro15-3890) (20b) had a Ki-value of 6.5 nM, and a 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3diazole derivative (NBD-NH-(CH2)3-Ro15-3890, 21) had a Ki-value of 5.7 nM. In order to yield sufficient sensitivity in the final receptor assay, a suitable fluorescent labeled ligand should have a Ki10 nM. A further advantage of the above two ligands is that the benzodiazepine moiety has no receptor affinity of its own. Thus, if some hydrolysis of the labeled ligand were to occur, the resulting Ro15-3890 (18) would hardly affect the outcome of the assay. In the second part of this paper the prerequisites of the fluorophore are being examined. In this regard, 20b is preferred, because the coumarin derivative has higher fluorescence intensities in aqueous media than the NBD-derivative. Therefore, 20b was selected as a fluorescent-labeled ligand in the development of a non-radioactive receptor assay for benzodiazepines.

Because radioactive labeled ligands in receptor assays have several disadvantages, we synthesized a number of fluorescent-labeled benzodiazepines. Several fluorophores were attached at different positions of 1,4-benzodiazepine molecules in order to assess the impact of the fluorophores and their coupling position on the affinity for the benzodiazepine receptor. Besides the 1,4-benzodiazepines, the 1,2-annelated 1,4-benzodiazepines were also used for labeling. A metabolite of flumazenil (18), desethylflumazenil (Ro15-3890, 19), was labeled with the fluorophore 4-bromomethyl-7-methoxycoumarin, with and without the incorporation of a spacer chain, yielding the methyl-methoxycoumarin (Mmc) derivatives Mmc-Ro15-3890 (20a) and Mmc-O-CO-(CH2)3-Ro15-3890 (20b), respectively. After the synthesis, the fluorescent-labeled benzodiazepines were purified by HPLC, using an analytical RP-C18 column. For the purification of 20b, the chromatographic system was optimized, using multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques. The binding affinities for the benzodiazepine receptor and the fluorescence characteristics were determined for the resulting products.

This review gives a survey of selectivity modes in capillary electrophoresis separations in pharmaceutical analysis and bioanalysis. Despite the high efficiencies of these separation techniques, good selectivity is required to allow quantitation or identification of a particular analyte. Selectivity in capillary electrophoresis is defined and described for different separation mechanisms, which are divided into two major areas: (i) capillary zone electrophoresis and (ii) electrokinetic chromatography. The first area describes aqueous (with or without organic modifiers) and nonaqueous modes. The second area discusses all capillary electrophoretic separation modes in which interaction with a (pseudo)stationary phase results in a change in migration rate of the analytes. These can be divided in micellar electrokinetic chromatography and capillary electrochromatography. The latter category can range from fully packed capillaries, via open-tubular coated capillaries to the addition of microparticles with multiple or single binding sites. Furthermore, an attempt is made to differentiate between methods in which molecular recognition plays a predominant role and methods in which the selectivity depends on overall differences in physicochemical properties between the analytes. The calculation of the resolution for the different separation modes and the requirements for qualitative and quantitative analysis are discussed. It is anticipated that selectivity tuning is easier in separation modes in which molecular recognition plays a role. However, sufficient attention needs to be paid to the efficiency of the system in that it not only affects resolution but also detectability of the analyte of interest.

The benzodiazepine receptor from calf brain was solubilized with sodium deoxycholate (2 mg/ml) in the presence of 0.5 M KCl and protease inhibitors, and bound flunitrazepam with an equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of 2.7 +/- 1.2 nM and with 0.40 +/- 0.04 pmol binding sites per mg protein (Bmax). Up to 60% of the benzodiazepine binding sites (average 25%) could be reconstituted in lipid vesicles, upon size-exclusion chromatography of protein-detergent-lipid mixtures on Sephadex G-50 Medium for detergent depletion. The flunitrazepam affinity for the reconstituted receptor varied with the lipid composition (Kd 1.4-4 nM). Freezing and thawing increased the size of the small proteoliposomes obtained by chromatographic reconstitution and, on the average, doubled the number of operative flunitrazepam binding sites. When the proteoliposomes were stored at -20 degrees C or -80 degrees C or in lyophilized state, the receptor retained its benzodiazepine binding affinity and Bmax over a period of 2 months.

For the purpose of quantitative receptor assays, a three-step solubilization procedure including three optimization sets for muscarinic receptor from calf striatum was developed. The first step includes the extraction of the P2-pellet with n-hexane and consequently with 2 M NaCl. By the latter, 39% of non-receptor proteins was extracted. The resulting pellet (NaCl-pellet), enriched in muscarinic receptors by a factor of 1.5-1.7, was solubilized with 1% digitonin. The binding parameters of the solubilized receptor were determined for the tertiary 3H-dexetimide (3H-DEX) and the quaternary 3H-N-methylscopolamine (3H-NMS). The resulting receptor density measured with 3H-dexetimide was lower (43.3% of that for the NaCl-pellet) than that for 3H-N-methyl-scopolamine (56.7%). The treatment with digitonin preserved the high affinity for 3H-N-methylscopolamine (Kd = 0.645 nM), however the affinity of 3H-dexetimide decreased after solubilization (Kd = 8.526 nM). The use of solubilized receptors in combination with hydrophilic 3H-NMS allows to increase the ratio specific/non-specific binding, since the non-specific binding for this ligand to the solubilized preparation is lower when compared with membrane-bound receptors. The above solubilization procedure was found preferable over directly solubilizing the P2-pellet since (a) the receptor density for 3H-NMS was higher for the solubilized NaCl-pellet by a factor of about 1.7, and (b) the treatment of the P2-pellet with digitonin resulted in a lowering of the Kd to 2.422 nM. However, with respect to the plasma effect on the ligand binding, both solubilized preparations give similar results. The use of the solubilized NaCl-pellet or the P2-pellet can considerably improve the quantitative receptor assays of plasma samples. Unlike the membrane-bound receptor, a high volume of plasma, such as 400 microliters, can be added to the assay without any influence on the 3H-DEX binding when solubilized preparation is used.

The use of Bond Elut Certify columns for the isolation of morphine from whole blood was evaluated. In order to monitor possible losses and the elution profile of morphine, a small amount of the tritiated analogue was added to the samples. Four sample pretreatment methods, three protein precipitation methods and one sonication/dilution method, were tested. The latter one gave the best results. The blood sample was applied onto the column at pH 3.3 after sonication and dilution with 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.3). The retention of morphine was affected by the pH of the samples, and the loss of morphine during sample application was minimized at low pH (3.3). The interferences were removed by washing the column with the phosphate buffer, 0.01 M acetic acid (pH 3.3), and methanol, sequentially. Ammoniated methanol, 2 mL at 2%, was selected to elute morphine. As a result, more than 80% of 3H-morphine was recovered for concentrations of morphine ranging from 5 to 4000 ng/mL.

The absorption of the dopamine D2 agonist S(-)-2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxy-tetralin hydrochloride (1; N-0923) was studied in fasted and non-fasted male Albino Wistar rats after intragastric administration of 10.0 mumol.kg-1. Blood samples up to 120 min were obtained from the portal vein and the levels of 1 were monitored with a sensitive HPLC method. The maximal fraction of the drug reaching the liver invariable was less than 1% of the dose. Maximal plasma levels of 30 pmol.ml-1 were found within 12 min after dosing in fasted animals. Plasma concentrations of 1 were measurable up to 60 min, after which they were below the quantitation limit of the assay (10 pmol.ml-1). This did not allow detailed kinetic analysis. Analysis of the portal blood samples obtained after an oral dosing of 10.0 mumol.kg(-1)1 spiked with 0.37 MBq tritium labelled drug showed that the amount of unchanged drug which reaches the liver invariably was comparable with the concentrations found in the study without radioactivity. In vitro incubation of 1 with gastric juice and gut contents showed no degradation. Therefore, it can be concluded that 1 undergoes an extensive metabolism in the gastrointestinal mucosa.

The impact of high temperatures (24 to 39 degrees C) and low to moderately high humidities (20 to 70%) on the applicability of TLC systems for drug identification was studied during a 6 month climatologic cycle in Burkina Faso (West Africa). In general, the Rf values as observed on the plates were found to be substantially affected as compared with values obtained at temperate climates. Some TLC systems were more affected than others and the largest deviations of up to 30 Rf units were at low humidities. Tropical conditions also had a negative effect on the reproducibility of Rf values. However, when an Rf-correction procedure was applied, using reference mixtures of known drugs on each plate, accuracy as well as reproducibility of the resulting Rfc values were drastically improved and data thus corrected were found to be compatible with existing TLC data bases developed under moderate climatological conditions. The impact of high to extremely high humidities (70 to 100%) remains to be investigated.

A rapid TLC method is presented to distinguish poor oxidative drug metabolizers from extensive oxidative drug metabolizers. Dextromethorphan (1) is used as test probe because it is safe, well characterized, generally available and easy to measure. The method is based on the extraction of 1 and its major oxidative metabolite dextrorphan (2) from urine, followed by separation on a TLC plate and visualized by a combined Marquis/Mandelin reaction. The intensities of the spots are then compared with a series of standard mixtures containing 1 and 2 in a ratio of 0.3 at different concentrations. This value represents the antimode that separates poor from extensive metabolizers, and an individual is identified as a poor metabolizer if the intensity ratio of the two spots from his urine sample is higher than 0.3. The proposed TLC method was cross checked with an HPLC method and found to correctly identify 9 poor metabolizers out of a population of 71 volunteers.

A gas chromatographic (GC) fingerprint method, based on the presence or absence of six congeners, was developed for illicit cocaine samples. The fingerprint utilizes the relative abundances of these congeners towards each other, disregarding cocaine as the main constituent, and can be expressed numerically or graphically in the form of pictograms for rapid visual comparison. The method can be applied directly to a solution of the sample in chloroform, without previous workup procedures. More than 70 unrelated samples were analyzed and a great variation was observed in the parameter composition. On the other hand, a remarkable similarity could be seen between related samples. The GC fingerprint method may be considered an important contribution for sample comparison, as is exemplified by a subdivision of the analyzed samples in different categories, based on the number and types of congeners found.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) by means of disposable columns has become a widely accepted technique for sample pretreatment in toxicology, both for directed analyses and for screening analyses. However, the sample capacity in SPE is usually limited to a few millilitres. Therefore, we have investigated to what extent these problems can be overcome by using Empore extraction disks, consisting of chemically modified C-8 reversed-phase silica, embedded in an inert polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) matrix. Human urine was selected as the matrix and dexetimide and mepyramine were initially used as test drugs because these drugs were available in tritiated form. Additional drugs investigated included codeine, hexobarbital, imipramine, methamphetamine, and nitrazepam. In these investigations, the sample capacity for untreated urine was at least 25 mL, and analyte quantities up to 250 micrograms could be retained by these filters. Washing with water/methanol mixtures was successful in removing substantial amounts of endogenous interferences, and methanol proved to be an acceptable eluent. Thus, these disks seem to have interesting potential for toxicological analysis in that sample concentration and cleanup can be achieved at the same time.

The heterogeneous binding behavior exhibited by classical quaternary muscarinic antagonists was further investigated in order to establish possible molecular and/or environmental differences between the high (Q1) and low (Q2) affinity binding sites. Using agents that are known to modulate (muscarinic) receptor binding (Na+ and Mg2+, 5'-guanylylimido diphosphate, dithiothreitol, N-ethylmaleimide), no evidence was obtained that the Q1 and Q2 binding site populations are molecularly different muscarinic receptor subtypes. Using membrane modulating agents (sodium dodecyl sulphate, digitonin, polyethylene glycol 6000, cholesteryl hemisuccinate), no evidence was obtained that the Q2 binding site population represents muscarinic receptors located in a different membrane environment less accessible to quaternary compounds. However, a qualitative correlation was found between lipid solubility and the appearance of Q1/Q2 binding heterogeneity for six quaternary muscarinic antagonists, suggesting that the low affinity binding sites may be (normal) muscarinic receptors located in a hydrophobic membrane domain.

In competition experiments with the tertiary radioligand [3H]dexetimide, classical quaternary muscarinic antagonists like ipratropium bromide and N-methylscopolamine bromide distinguished two muscarinic binding sites in bovine brain (total brain minus cerebellum) membranes, in contrast to their tertiary analogues, atropine and scopolamine, which recognized only one binding site. This binding behavior was found to be almost identical in bovine striatal membranes, both in terms of binding affinities and proportions of high (Q1) and low (Q2) affinity binding sites. Both in total brain and in striatal membranes, the Q1/Q2 binding heterogeneity was independent of pirenzepine binding heterogeneity (M1/M2). In peripheral tissues, the binding properties of quaternary muscarinic antagonists varied. Whereas tertiary as well as quaternary compounds showed only high affinity binding towards muscarinic receptors in bovine atrial and left ventricular membranes, heterogeneous binding behavior was observed with quaternary but not with tertiary antagonists in bovine tracheal smooth muscle membranes. The tissue distribution found in the present study suggests that bovine tracheal smooth muscle contraction studies might shed light on the functional significance of the anomalous binding behavior of quaternary muscarinic antagonists.

Glucuronidation is known to be a major metabolic pathway for labetalol. As the drug contains a phenolic and an alcoholic hydroxy group, in principle two regio isomeric glucuronides can be formed. By incubating the substrate labetalol with bovine liver microsomes, in the presence of the co-substrate UDP-glucuronic acid, both hydroxy positions were glucuronidated. The different glucuronides were isolated from the incubation mixture using Bond-Elut extraction cartridges and separated by means of high performance liquid chromatography. The formation of glucuronides was confirmed by performing reference incubations using radiolabeled UDP-glucuronic acid. Structure elucidation of the various glucuronides was done by nuclear magnetic resonance, ultraviolet spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.

The metabolism of 2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin (N-0437) was investigated in conscious monkeys after subsequent i.v., oral, and ocular administration. The administration of the drug caused some physiological effects, such as bradycardia and sedation of the monkeys. During a collection period of 120 hr, on average 83% was recovered after iv administration and 90% after p.o. dosing. After i.v. administration, 44% was excreted in the bile, as compared to 38% in the urine and about 1% in the feces. After oral administration, bile is the major excretion route, accounting for about 60% of the dose, as compared to 25% in the urine and about 5% in the feces. After ocular administration, on average 62% was recovered after 7 hr, excreted in bile and urine in about equal amounts. All percentages given above reflect the total amount of radioactivity recovered, thus comprising the unchanged drug plus various metabolites. After all three dosing routes, N-0437 was metabolized almost completely prior to elimination. Direct glucuronidation of the phenolic group proved to be the major metabolic pathway of N-0437, comprising about 44% of the dose after i.v. and ocular administration and 72% after oral dosing. Hydroxylation of N-0437 at the position ortho to the phenolic group present yielded a catechol intermediate, which was excreted as a glucuronide and accounted for about 10% of the dose. In the monkey, a clear regioselective preference towards glucuronidation at the 6-position was observed. Besides the glucuronide, the sulfoconjugate of N-0437 was a major metabolite after i.v. and ocular administration, accounting for about 15% of the dose.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The ocular and systemic disposition of the new dopamine agonist 2-(N-propyl-N-2-thienylethylamino)-5-hydroxytetralin (N-0437) was investigated in conscious monkeys after ocular administration of 0.56 mg N-0437. HCl (corresponding to 0.50 mg free base), containing 200 microCi [3H]N-0437, into the right eye. After killing the animal, the eyes were removed and several eye tissues were dissected and assessed for their content of radioactivity. In the treated eye, the iris contained by far the highest concentration of radioactivity, while in the untreated eye the lower conjunctiva, the iris the ciliary body and the choroid possessed the highest levels of radioactivity. In all dissected eye tissues, a substantially higher concentration of radioactivity was established for the treated eye compared to the untreated eye, except for the vitreous in which for both eyes about an equal concentration was measured. This result suggests the presence of a systemic transport, which was confirmed by the occurrence of bradycardia, starting immediately after ocular application of the drug and lasting for about 1.5 hr. As the total amount of radioactivity in both eyes 7 hr after ocular dosing is very low (0.3-0.5% of the dose), one can conclude that N-0437 is almost completely taken up into the general circulation. The radioactive measurements of bile and urine samples collected up to 7 hr after administration revealed that the elimination of N-0437 and its metabolites is very fast, with the urinary excretion (35% of the dose) slightly higher than to the biliary one (31% of the dose).

Upon application of 14C-labeled cyoctol to the forearm of healthy volunteers, no parent cyoctol was detectable in ipsilateral blood plasma. The 14C activity was largely accounted for by a component with higher lipophilicity than the parent compound, as justified from their HPLC retention. Thus, this study suggests that human skin is capable of nearly complete cutaneous first-pass metabolism, resulting in negligible systemic availability of cyoctol. In a comparable experiment, rabbits were also able to convert cyoctol during skin absorption to a more lipophilic metabolite, which was identified as the palmitoleic acid ester of O-demethylated cyoctol by GC/MS. However, chromatographic evidence indicates that the human ipsilateral metabolite differs from the rabbit cyoctol metabolite.

In this review, the properties, pharmaceutical profile, and metabolism of Azone are described, and the mechanism of its action in facilitating transdermal drug delivery is discussed. It is concluded that the compound is safe for human use, and of value in enhancing the cutaneous absorption of many types of drugs.

Chain-labeled 14C-Azone was intravenously administered to hamster, monkey, and rat, to compare its metabolic profile with that obtained previously in humans after dermal application. Azone-derived radioactivity was excreted predominantly in the urine for both hamster and monkey, which is similar to the disposition in humans. Metabolic profiling in urine revealed extensive systemic metabolism to occur in all species studied. The main fraction of the metabolites was most polar in man, followed by rat, monkey, and hamster. Traces of the parent compound were detectable only in hamster urine. Although some of the polar major human metabolites were also present in rat urine, the animals were unsuitable for collecting metabolites of Azone observed in humans. In rats, complete cleavage of the dodecyl side chain was ruled out by administering Azone that had been labeled at two distinct positions of the molecule. Additionally, oral administration of Azone to rats resulted in the same metabolic profile as intravenous administration, indicating that gastrointestinal metabolism does not occur or is similar to systemic metabolism.

In radioligand binding studies, the accuracy of the specific activity of the radiolabeled ligand has a large impact on the calculated receptor concentration and on the calculated affinities of both labeled and competitive ligands. A radioreceptor assay for anticholinergic drugs was employed to determine the specific activity of 3H-N-methylscopolamine in which the assumption was made that the labeling does not affect the interaction between the ligand and the muscarinic receptor. With this method a specific activity of 48 Ci/mmole was determined which was about 60% of the manufacturer's specification. However, the specific activity as determined by mass-spectrometry with field desorption showed 2.8 tritium-atoms per molecule NMS corresponding with an specific activity of 84.5 Ci/mmole. The only explanation for this discrepancy was a racemisation of the label, which could be proven by titration of the label with an increasing receptor concentration showing that 40% was not bound at all. This was attributed to the formation of the (+)-isomer.

1. All detectable biliary butoprozine metabolites can be separated with a specially developed analytical approach based on gradient-elution reversed-phase h.p.l.c. without extraction steps.2. The high reproducibility of the h.p.l.c. systems allows preliminary intra- and inter-species comparisons based on retention times with single wavelength u.v. detection.3. Diode array u.v. spectrometry, radioactivity and mass-spectrometric measurements were used to confirm the metabolic character of peaks in an individual chromatogram, and to obtain more evidence for the structure of metabolites with the same retention time in chromatograms of different bile fractions.4. Large inter-species differences in the biliary metabolic profiles are seen, indicating that great care must be exercised when trying to extrapolate preclinical drug safety evaluations from animals to man.

Oxitropium bromide (OXBR) is a new anticholinergic drug, which is expected to be useful in the treatment of nocturnal asthma. The only pharmacokinetic data were obtained with the 14C-labelled compound. A sensitive radioreceptor assay for the determination of unlabelled OXBR in plasma was developed, based on competition between OXBR and 3H-N-methylscopolamine for binding to muscarinic receptors. OXBR was isolated from plasma by ion-pair extraction and re-extraction. Active metabolites present in significant amounts might interfere in the assay, but this was not the case for OXBR metabolites. Detection limits were 300 pg.ml-1 and 3 ng.ml-1 for plasma and urine, respectively. For the latter no extraction step was required. The single dose pharmacokinetics of OXBR was studied following inhalation (3 mg), oral (2 mg) and i.v. (1 mg) administration to 12 men, following an open, cross-over design. After i.v. administration the kinetic parameters were: Vc 38.41; t1/2 alpha 5.3 min; t1/2 beta 142 min; AUC 8.9 h.ng.ml-1; renal excretion 50.2%, k10 3.5 l.h-1 and total clearance 1874 ml/min. The apparent bioavailabilities were 0.48% and 12.4% by the oral and inhalation routes, respectively, based on the cumulative renal excretion. There were moderate adverse reactions due to the anticholinergic properties of the drug.

Vapor-programmed thin layer chromatography (VP-TLC) was found to give distinctly improved separations of the 4 common aflatoxins, B1, B2, G1, and G2. Fluorodensitometric evaluation of the chromatograms showed completely separated peaks with the recorded curve always coming back to the baseline. Both classical TLC separations and VP-TLC separations were highly dependent on the relative humidity under which the analysis was performed. Optimum resolutions thus require the availability of a room with controlled and variable relative humidity. However, when the VP-technique is used, changes in the humidity can be compensated for by suitably altering the vapor program.

In an experimental animal study using adolescent pigs we compared the pharmacokinetics and -dynamics of atropine following intravenous injection (0.25 mg, n = 6) or endobronchial instillation (2 mg, n = 6). Results showed that endobronchial atropine is rapidly absorbed by the pulmonary circulation, resulting in a peak plasma concentration of 48.8 +/- 25.9 ng ml-1 (mean +/- SD) after 2 min, compared to 46.3 +/- 16.7 ng ml-1 in the first min after intravenous injection. A first increase in heart rate could be observed within 1 min after both routes of drug administration. Significant changes in heart rate were found 9-30 min after endobronchial and 12-15 min after intravenous medication, with a maximum after 9 min (+57%) and 12 min (+24%), respectively. Mean bioavailability of atropine following the endobronchial route reached only 23% during the first 6 h when compared to intravenous administration. In light of this reduced bioavailability, we suggest an adult dosage in humans of atropine 2 mg diluted in 5-10 ml of saline administered endobronchially to attain a reliable increase in heart rate during a cardiac emergency when, in an intubated individual, no intravenous line is readily available.

A sensitive and selective method for the quantitative determination of the quaternary ammonium antiacetylcholine-compound thiazinamium methylsulphate (Multergan) in plasma and urine is described. The procedure is based on ion pair extraction of the compound with iodide as the counter ion. This is followed by gas chromatography using an alkali flame ionization detector. The detection limit is 2 ng ml−1 with a recovery of 88·0 ± 6·2% from plasma, 91·4 ± 4·6% from urine. The described method can also be applied to other quaternary ammonium compounds.

The effect of influenza vaccination on steady-state pharmacokinetics of theophylline was studied in six healthy young adults by comparing pharmacokinetic parameters found on days 4 and 5 during a 5-day course of theophylline alone with those obtained after influenza vaccination on day 4 of a second study phase. Theophylline plasma concentrations were measured by means of high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis and, in part, with a manual ultraviolet spectrophotometric method and with an EMIT assay. On the fourth and fifth days of each of the two periods of drug administration, theophylline plasma concentration-time curves were evaluated, and the following pharmacokinetic parameters were compared: trough plasma concentration (cmin), peak plasma concentration (cmax), time to peak (tmax), and the area under the curve during a dosing interval (AUC). None of these pharmacokinetic parameters of theophylline before and after vaccination were found to be significantly different with any of the analytical methods.

The present investigations were performed to assess the feasibility of an international round robin on biological samples, to assess the overall performance of toxicological laboratories in the European Community (EC) and the applicability of analytical methods used. Twelve laboratories representing 10 member countries within the Community, which could be considered to be well qualified for this type of work, participated in this study. The set-up chosen was that of a so-called long-term interlaboratory survey. It appeared that quality assurance by an international round robin is feasible within the EC. The samples consisted of arsenic and thallium, both at a high and a low level and the results of the individual laboratories as well as interlaboratory data are reported. In general, a good overall performance was seen, and the methods used showed acceptable accuracy and precision.

The percutaneous absorption and elimination of Azone, a new penetration enhancer, were investigated in humans. The distribution and accumulation of Azone in the skin were studied by means of tape stripping. These studies reveal that pure Azone is poorly absorbed. Furthermore, what little Azone is absorbed appears to be rapidly cleared from the circulation by the kidneys. In order to explain the urinary excretion profile, the formation of at least one metabolite is suggested. No accumulation of Azone in the skin was observed.

A systematic approach to the investigation of metabolic degradation of drugs is presented. Extraction of the biological sample is avoided by direct injection of bile or urine in a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography system. Good separation of the various metabolites is obtained by changing the composition of the mobile phase so that all components become separated from the solvent front and are eluted from the column. The metabolites can be detected by measuring the amount of radioactivity in the column effluent, which also serves as a check on the overall recovery. Simultaneous registration of the UV absorbance permits certain conclusions to be drawn with regard to the nature of the metabolites. This approach is illustrated in the screening for metabolites of Butoprozine, a new anti-anginal drug, in rat bile. Essentially, all metabolites could be followed by suitable adaptations of the mobile phase, thus providing a metabolid profile with a recovery of 95% of the radioactivity.

The identification of residues of polychlorinated biphenyls in a test sample of Flores Chamomillae could be achieved by the retention behavior at gas chromatographic analyses on packed and capillary columns compared with reference standard Clophen A 60, respectively as well as well by capillary GC/MS using single ion monitoring of substance-characteristic ion mass.