[The pharmacokinetics of adriamycin and adriamycin-metabolites (author's transl)].

A sensitive reproducible, nondestructive method for the determination of adriamycin and its metabolites in plasma, leukocytes and tissues has been developed. Apolar substances as adriamycinone (adm-one) were extracted at pH 2 with chloroform, polar ones as adriamycin (adm) and adriamycinol (adm-ol) at pH 8.8 with chloroform: methanol, separated by thin-layer-chromatography and quantitated by fluorescence spectrophotometry. The plasma levels of adm-ol and adm-one were lower in all patients compared to those of adm. Further metabolites were found in the bile. Toxic effects were found in patients with prolonged half-lives in the elimination phase. A delayed elimination was observed in a patient with an elevation of the bilirubin level, but also in patients without overt liver disease. The pharmacokinetics of adm showed considerable inter- and intraindividual fluctuations.