Analysis of 2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(3-iodo-E-allyl)nortropane in rat plasma: II. Pharmacokinetic profile in male and female Sprague–Dawley rats evaluated by capillary electrophoresis

This paper describes a pharmacokinetic study performed in Sprague–Dawley rats after i.v. administration of a single 6-mg/kg dose of 2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(3-iodo-E-allyl)nortropane (Altropane). Plasma samples were collected from the retro-orbital sinus at times up to 3 h after drug administration, extracted by solid-phase extraction, and the drug levels determined by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by a standard noncompartmental model using WinNonlin version 1.5. The maximum plasma concentrations, clearances of the drug, and areas under the curve for male and female rats were 5.74 and 7.26 μg/ml, 135.7 and 98.5 ml/kg·min, and 44.23 and 60.92 μg·min/ml, respectively. The drug was cleared very rapidly from the systemic circulation, with a terminal t1/2 of 7 to 10 min and a mean residence time of about 11 min for both sexes. The volume of distribution was approximately 1 l/kg. No metabolites were detected when the samples were analyzed individually. However, after samples were pooled and concentrated, traces of two unknown peaks that may represent metabolites were detected in concentrates from the last two timepoints. Part I of this work [J. Chromatogr. A, 895 (2000) 87] describes validation of CE methods for the analysis of aqueous and plasma samples of Altropane, including its solid-phase extraction from rat plasma.