High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of N-(2-methyl-2-propyl)-3-oxo-4-aza-5 alpha-androst-1-ene-17 beta-carboxamide, a 4-azasteroid, in human plasma from a phase I study.

A sensitive and selective high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of N-(2-methyl-2-propyl)-3-oxo-4-aza-5 alpha-androst-1-ene-17 beta-carboxamide (I) in human plasma. I, a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor and a potential therapeutic agent for benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a member of the family of compounds referred to as the 4-azasteroids. The 4-N-methyl analogue of the drug was used as the internal standard and calibration curves were developed at two levels of sensitivity to cover a large dynamic range of plasma concentrations. Drug was isolated from biological fluids with a solid-phase C18 extraction column; the analyte was further purified by adsorption and desorption from a second extraction column (CN cartridge). Evaluation of the isolation method revealed that it was reproducible and drug recoveries equalled ca. 90%. Chromatography was carried out on a C8 column (5 micron) with ultraviolet detection at 210 nm. The detection limit was ca. 10 ng/ml for I. Human plasma levels are reported for I following single-dose oral administration of 50,200 and 400 mg of drug; urinary excretion data are reported for a single volunteer given 400 mg of I.