A therapeutic monitoring assay for N-methylformamide in human serum and urine.

This report describes a gas chromatographic procedure using a packed column and a flame ionization detector, which is suitable for the therapeutic monitoring of N-methylformamide (N-MF). N-MF is a polar compound that induces cancer cell maturation in vitro and exhibits antitumor activity with human tumors xenografted in nude mice. Toxicology studies with mice have shown this compound to be hepatotoxic. N-MF is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trial as an anticancer drug at this institution. In concert with its clinical trial, a method for the analysis of N-MF in biological fluids has been developed to study its pharmacokinetics. This method involves direct injection of urine or acetone-deproteinized serum onto a Chromosorb 103 column, using N,N-diethylformamide as an internal standard.