Enantioselective gas chromatographic assay with electron-capture detection for dl-fenfluramine and dl-norfenfluramine in plasma.

An enantioselective gas chromatographic assay utilising electron-capture detection has been developed for the simultaneous quantitation of enantiomers of fenfluramine and nonfenfluramine in plasma. The assay involves the conversion of the enantiomers of both fenfluramine and norfenfluramine into their corresponding diastereomeric amide derivatives by an acylation reaction with n-heptafluorobutyryl-S-prolyl chloride under Schotten-Baumann conditions prior to gas chromatographic separation on an achiral polar OV-225 capillary column. Linear and reproducible standard curves were obtained over the concentration ranges 4.30-86.3 ng/ml per enantiomer and 1.25-42.25 ng/ml per enantiomer for the enantiomers of fenfluramine and norfenfluramine, respectively. The method was applied to a single-dose pharmacokinetic study in a healthy adult subject. Stereoselective differences were observed in the plasma concentration versus time profiles of the enantiomers of both fenfluramine and norfenfluramine. The area under the plasma concentration versus time curve values obtained for the l-isomers of fenfluramine or norfenfluramine were higher than the values of their corresponding d-antipodes.