Measurement of azacyclonol in urine and serum of humans following terfenadine (Seldane) administration using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Some pharmacokinetic aspects of the lipophilic terfenadine and zwitterionic fexofenadine in humans

Fexofenadine, an active metabolite of the second-generation histamine H1 receptor antagonist (antihistamine) terfenadine, does not have the disadvantage of QT prolongation. In addition, unlike first-generation antihistamines, it is associated with few CNS adverse effects. Chemically, fexofenadine has a zwitterionic structure that makes it an interesting molecule for use as an oral drug. Fexo-fenadine has negligible hepatic metabolism in humans, and is recovered mainly in the faeces in an unchanged form after oral administration. The absolute oral bioavailability of fexofenadine in humans is not known because of a lack of studies of intravenous administration of this agent. Its apparent elimination half-life (t1/2) ranges from 3 to 17 hours and is highly dependent on study design, i.e. the length of blood sampling. This large discrepancy might be associated with a 'flip-flop' phenomenon caused by slow absorption of the zwitterionic molecule. This review summarises the available literature related to the absorption, elimination and excretion of fexofenadine and terfenadine. Based on these data, the volume of distribution, t1/2 and oral bioavailability of fexofenadine in humans are estimated. Understanding these pharmacokinetic aspects of this drug might be very useful for medicinal chemists utilising fexofenadine/terfenadine as an example for designing zwitterionic compounds to combat cardiotoxicity and other issues related to basic and lipophilic molecules.

Assay of terfenadine in pharmaceutical formulation and human plasma by adsorptive stripping voltammetry

The controlled adsorptive accumulation of Zn(II)-terfenadine complex (1:1) onto a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) provides the basis for determination of the antihistamine drug terfenadine by differential pulse cathodic adsorptive stripping voltammetry. The adsorbed Zn(II)-terfenadine complex (1:1) at the HMDE developed a stripping voltammetry peak at more negative potential than that of the free Zn(II) ions. The peak current was used for the determination of terfenadine in pharmaceutical formulation and human plasma in 0.1 mol l(-1) sodium perchlorate solution under the optimized conditions (E(acc), -0.5 V; t(acc) 360 s; scan rate, 5 mV s(-1) and pulse height 100 mV). The developed peak current (i(p)) showed a linear dependence with terfenadine concentration within the range of 6 x 10(-8) - 9 x 10(-7) mol l(-1). The recoveries were found 98.97-99.35%, 99.72-99.02% and 100.58-101.08% with the R.S.D. 0.16-0.27%, 0.25-0.82% and 0.44-1.14% in authentic form, pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma, respectively. The detection limits were 0.4505 and 0.6115 ng ml(-1) terfenadine in pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma, respectively.

Use of mixed anhydrides for the determination of terfenadine in dosage forms and spiked human plasma

Terfenadine reacts with mixed anhydrides (malonic and acetic anhydrides) producing a yellow-coloured product with intense fluorescence. Based on this fact, a spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of terfenadine in dosage forms. The relation between the absorbance at 395 nm and the concentration is rectilinear over the range 0.5-5 microg ml(-1) (molar absorptivity is 1.405 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm (-1)). The reaction product was also measured spectrofluorimetrically at 435 nm after excitation at 395 nm. The fluorescence intensity was directly proportional to the concentration over the range 0.5-4 ng ml(-1) with minimum detectability (S/N = 2) of 0.07 microg ml(-1) (approximately 1.5 x 10(-10) M). The different parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction product were carefully studied and incorporated into the procedure. The proposed spectrophotometric method was successfully applied to the determination of terfenadine in tablets and suspensions; the percentage recoveries were 99.83 +/- 0.75 and 99.65 +/- 0.83, respectively. The proposed spectrofluorimetric method was applied to the determination of terfenadine in spiked human plasma. The percentage recovery was 99.35 +/- 2.19. The method is highly sensitive and specific. No interference was noticed from co-formulated drugs, such as pseudoephedrine and ibuprofen.

Determination of the terfenadine metabolite azacyclonol in human serum using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

In this work, a method for the determination of azacyclonol, a primary metabolite of terfenadine, in human serum is described. Sample preparation is carried out by liquid-liquid extraction under basic conditions. For an efficient clean up, the analytes are back-extracted into diluted hydrochloric acid and, after alkalinization, are once again extracted into the organic phase. No derivatisation step is performed. The samples are measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with good selectivity. The limit of detection is 2 ng/ml. The coefficients of variation are 12.6% at 10 ng/ml and 6.44% at 200 ng/ml in the day-to-day control measurements.