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Two sensitive analytical procedures, a radioimmunoassay (RIA) and a mass fragmentographic (GC-MS) method, were used to quantitate plasma trifluoperazine concentrations over 24 h in five healthy male volunteers following single 5 mg doses of two trifluoperazine tablet formulations (A and B) in a two-way cross-over design. Bioavailability in terms of area under the plasma concentration versus time curve to 24h or extrapolated to infinity, maximum plasma concentration and time to maximum plasma concentration using either RIA or GC-MS was not statistically significantly different from one formulation to the other. Also, there were no statistically significant differences between GC-MS and RIA values for AUC24(0) and Cmax for each of the two formulations examined. However, the mean AUC24(0) RIA/GC-MS ratios for formulations A and B were 3.1 and 3.4, respectively, while the mean Cmax RIA/GC-MS ratios were 1.7 and 2.1, respectively. These differences in AUC and Cmax are probably mainly due to the relative non-specificity of the RIA antiserum. Thus, where GC-MS is preferred for pharmacokinetic studies, both analytical procedures can be used for comparative single-dose bioequivalence studies of trifluoperazine. However, both the methods should be tested in patients in order to establish the suitability of one procedure over the other for the study of plasma level versus clinical response correlations.

The relative bioavailability of a new conventional tablet formulation (5 mg) of trifluoperazine dihydrochloride was studied in 24 healthy volunteers. Using a sensitive radioimmunoassay technique, plasma trifluoperazine concentrations were measured up until 24 h following ingestion of single 5-mg doses of trifluoperazine. The mean +/- SD for the peak concentration (Cmax), time to Cmax, area under the curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC240), and terminal elimination half-life following the administration of the test formulation were 2.15 +/- 1.07 ng/mL, 4.10 +/- 1.38 h, 21.04 +/- 11.92 ng X h/mL, and 9.5 +/- 7 h, respectively. Following the ingestion of the original trifluoperazine tablet formulation (5 mg) these same parameters were estimated to be 1.92 +/- 0.88 ng/mL, 4.02 +/- 1.10 h, 18.03 +/- 10.11 ng X h/mL, and 9.3 +/- 7 h, respectively. Large intersubject variations in Cmax and AUC240 were observed. The relative bioavailability of the test formulation was calculated to be 106.5 +/- 25.5%.

The single dose pharmacokinetics of trifluoperazine (5 mg, Stelazine) were investigated in black (n = 25) and white (n = 32) healthy male subjects. Plasma samples were harvested over 24 h and analysed by a GLC-MS method. There were wide intersubject variations in all pharmacokinetic parameters examined, including Cmax, AUC, apparent oral volume of distribution at steady state, and elimination half-life. For each of these parameters the distribution was positively skewed in both blacks and whites and the geometric mean gave a better estimate of central tendency than the corresponding arithmetic mean. In all pharmacokinetic parameters examined there was no significant difference detected between black and white subjects or between smokers and non-smokers.

The disposition of trifluoperazine (TFP) was studied in five healthy volunteers following oral administration of a 5 mg tablet. Using a very sensitive GC-MS technique plasma TFP concentrations were measured up until 24 h following drug ingestion. Peak plasma concentrations varied widely (range 0.53-3.09 ng ml-1) and were reached 2.8 +/- 0.5 h following ingestion of the TFP tablet. The apparent terminal elimination half-life of TFP was 12.5 +/- 1.4 h. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve differed widely between subjects (range: 5.9-17.6 ng ml-1 h) suggesting large individual differences in the extent of presystemic TFP elimination.