Isolation of N,N-dialkylated derivatives of valproylglycinamide from dog plasma by active charcoal adsorption and their quantification by high-performance liquid chromatography

A selective assay for quantification of N,N-dimethylvalproylglycinamide (DM-VGD) and N,N-diethylvalproylglycinamide (DE-VGD) in dog plasma utilizing reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and UV detection has been developed, These compounds are derivatives of the potential anticonvulsant drug, valproylglycinamide, which is currently undergoing clinical trials, The method is based on extraction of dog plasma with activated charcoal, separation of the charcoal pellet and extracting it with methanol, evaporation of the solvent and injecting the reconstituted residue onto the column, The active charcoal adsorption method is reliable and reproducible, and it provides a chromatogram free of interfering endogenous plasma compounds. The assay was validated and provided a limit of quantification of 2.3 mmol/l for DE-VGD and 5.3 mmol/l for DM-VGD, Mean recovery of these compounds from plasma averages 75%, This analytical method is suitable for the quantitative determination of DM-VGD and DE-VGD in plasma and it has been applied to a pharmacokinetic study of these compounds in a dog.