Radioimmunoassay for the 7-hydroxy metabolite of trifluoperazine and its application to a kinetic study in human volunteers.

A hapten derivative of the 7-hydroxy metabolite of trifluoperazine, 7-hydroxy-10-[[3-[4-(2-carboxyethyl)-1-piperazinyl]propyl]]-2 -tri-fluromethyl-10H-phenothiazine, was synthesized and coupled to bovine serum albumin. Immunization of New Zealand white rabbits with this drug-protein conjugate resulted in the production of antisera, one of which was subsequently utilized in the development of an RIA procedure. The described RIA for the first time enables the quantitation of the 7-hydroxy metabolite of trifluoperazine in human plasma after oral administration of single and therapeutic doses of trifluoperazine, in which 20 pg of the nonconjugated 7-hydroxy metabolite in 200 microL of plasma can be measured with a CV of less than 3% in B/Bo readings. Similar results were obtained by this assay procedure with or without the selective extraction of the 7-hydroxy metabolite and in the presence or absence of a large excess of trifluoperazine and other suspected major metabolites, such as the sulfoxide and N4'-oxide metabolites. This RIA procedure, together with a previously developed RIA for trifluoperazine, was used to directly determine plasma concentrations of trifluoperazine and its 7-hydroxy metabolite after administration of a single 5-mg oral dose of trifluoperazine to six healthy male volunteers. The mean +/- SD for the peak concentration (Cmax), the time to Cmax, the area under the curve from 0 to 24 h and, the apparent terminal elimination half-life for the 7-hydroxy metabolite were found to be 0.86 +/- 0.2 ng/mL, 6.2 +/- 1.6 h, 11.1 +/- 4.9 ng . h/mL, and 10.6 +/- 5.7 h, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)