Quantitation of the enantiomers of rimantadine in human plasma and urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric procedure has been developed for the quantitation in plasma and urine of the enantiomers of rimantadine, an antiviral drug effective against type A influenza. The assay utilizes derivatization with an optically active reagent, selective ion monitoring, methane negative-ion chemical ionization (NICI) mass spectrometry and stable isotope dilution. The method has been used to measure concentrations of each rimantadine enantiomer over a range of 2.5-250 and 12.5-1250 ng/ml in the plasma and urine, respectively, of four male volunteers administered rimantadine. In plasma and urine, no differences were observed in the disposition of the unconjugated enantiomers. In urine, one enantiomer, but not both, was released following enzymatic hydrolysis.

Relative bioavailability of rimantadine HCl tablet and syrup formulations in healthy subjects.

Twenty healthy male subjects completed an open-label randomized crossover design to assess the bioavailability of 100 mg of rimantadine HCl in tablet and syrup forms relative to an oral solution. Blood samples were drawn and rimantadine plasma concentrations were determined by a GC-MS method. The maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), the time to Cmax (tmax), the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), and k were compared among treatments using an analysis of variance and the Hauck-Anderson test for bioequivalence. The Hauck-Anderson test was satisfied when the syrup and solution were compared. The relative bioavailability of the syrup was 96%. Both Cmax and AUC were significantly (p less than 0.05) increased (23 and 17%, respectively) when the tablet was compared with the solution. The relative bioavailability of the tablet was 117%. This outcome was unusual and could not be explained. However, this was not anticipated to be of clinical consequence since the majority of the safety and efficacy of rimantadine HCl was established using a tablet.

Quantitative determination of rimantadine in human plasma and urine by GC-MS.

A GC-MS procedure has been developed for the quantitation in plasma and urine of rimantadine, an antiviral drug effective against type A influenza. The assay utilizes selective ion monitoring, methane negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) and stable isotope dilution. Sensitivity to NCI is effected by derivation of rimantadine with pentafluorobenzoyl chloride. The method has been used to quantitate plasma concentrations of rimantadine over a range from 4.2 ng/ml to 416 ng/ml, and urinary concentrations of rimantadine over a range of 21 ng/ml to 2077 ng/ml.

Rimantadine pharmacokinetics after single and multiple doses.

Twenty-four healthy adult male volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two rimantadine regimens. The 12 volunteers assigned to regimen 1 orally received a single 100-mg rimantadine tablet followed 5 days later by 100 mg of rimantadine twice a day for 10 days. Volunteers assigned to regimen 2 ingested a single 100-mg rimantadine tablet followed 5 days later by 100 mg once a day for 10 days. The results of the study suggest that the pharmacokinetics of rimantadine are linear and accumulation of the drug during repetitive multiple doses is predictable.

Pharmacokinetics of single and multiple ascending doses of the antiallergic agent tiacrilast in man.

Five groups of six healthy subjects received single oral doses of 150, 300, 450, 600 or 750 mg tiacrilast 150 mg capsules, followed 24 h later by the same dose given every 6 h for 7 days, in a study designed to assess the pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of tiacrilast. Plasma samples were obtained at specified times after the initial dose, after 4 days of multiple dosing and after the last dose of tiacrilast. Samples were assayed for unchanged drug by a specific HPLC method. Wide variability was seen in the plasma concentration-time data. Plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters were nearly proportional to dose over the 150 to 750 mg dose range studied. Moreover, there was no evidence of unexpected accumulation of the drug in the plasma during multiple dosing and food did not appear to alter the bioavailability of tiacrilast to any clinically significant extent. The apparent elimination half-life was similar after single and multiple doses and ranged from 1 to 3 h.

Radioimmunoassay for detection of antibodies to Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

A radioimmunoassay has been developed and evaluated for the serological diagnosis of gonorrhea. Purified gonococcal antigen was obtained from a culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (B370) and labeled with 125I for use in a double-antibody test system. The test was evaluated in populations segregated by sex and risk. The specificity of the assay in females was 90.2% (55/61) in low risk, 82.2% (2,245/ 2,732) in medium risk, and 54.1% (335/619) in high risk. The sensitivity was 69% (20/29) in medium risk and 78.3% (288/367) in high risk. In males, test specificity was 92.3% (24/26) in low risk and 50% (48/96) in high risk. The sensitivity was 70.8% (143/202) in the high-risk group. The data in this study indicate that this assay should not be employed for screening of either high- or medium-risk populations.