Determination of antiepileptic drug concentrations in animal blood by the SLFIA method

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate whether antiepileptic drug concentrations in the blood of small animals could be determined by Ames TDA kits based on substrate-labeled fluorescent immunoassay (SLFIA) method. Six other drugs have been evaluated by this method using only a 6-μ1 serum sample. The concentrations of phenobarbital (PB), sodium valproate (VAP) and primidone (PRM) in the blood were determined by the SLFIA method in mice and rats, and were compared with those determined by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) method. The drug concentrations in the blood collected from the tail wounded slightly in the upper part of tail vein were compared with those in the blood obtained by decapitation of mice and from the inferior vena cava of rats. A good correlation between the GLC and the SLFIA method was observed in the blood concentrations of VAP and PB in mice and rats. When determined by the SLFIA method using the blood obtained from the tail vein, inferior vena cava or decapitation, there was good agreement between the drug concentrations in blood obtained by each sampling technique. Using this assay and the blood sampling technique from tail vein, the pharmacokinetic parameters for PRM and derived PB after an oral administration of PRM in rats were obtained following one-compartment open model. These results indicated that the SLFIA method could be applied to evaluate the blood antiepileptic drug concentrations in mice and rats.