Radioimmunoassay for the N-Oxide Metabolite of Chlorpromazine in Human Plasma and Its Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study in Healthy Humans

Antibodies specific to chlorpromazine N-oxide (CPZNO) were produced in rabbits immunized with a hapten–bovine serum albumin conjugate, which was prepared by linking the 7-position of the phenothiazine ring of the metabolite to the protein via a 4-carbon bridge. An extraction radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed using this antiserum and shown to have adequate sensitivity and specificity for determination of plasma concentrations of CPZNO in the presence of chlorpromazine (CPZ) and its major metabolites. It was used together with the previously developed RIAs for CPZ, chlorpromazine sulfoxide (CPZSO), and 7-hydroxychlorpromazine (7-OHCPZ) to study the pharmacokinetics of CPZ and these metabolites in five healthy volunteers after they received a single 50-mg oral dose of CPZ. It is interesting to note that peak plasma concentrations of CPZNO were considerably higher than CPZ, and the apparent elimination half-lives of this metabolite were shorter than those of CPZ.