Determination of nomifensine by a sensitive radioimmunoassay.

1. A radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been developed for determination of both nomifensine and total nomifensine (nomifensine + conjugated nomifensine) in serum, plasma, and urine. 2. Antibodies were prepared in rabbits by immunization with N-(8-Nomifensine) succinamic acid-bovine serum albumin. 3H-labelled drug was used as tracer. Separation of free from antibody-bound nomifensine was carried out using dextran-coated charcoal. For determination of total nomifensine, the acid-labile conjugate was split by acidification. 3. The limit of detection for nomifensine is 300 pg/ml plasma and the cross-reactivity of the metabolites is less that 1%. The influence of conjugated nomifensine on the results of nomifensine can be corrected. 4. Pharmacokinetics of nomifensine were determined in healthy volunteers after oral administration of 100 mg 14C-labelled drug. Peak levels of 14C radioactivity (2,150 ng/ml), total nomifensine (1,252 ng/ml) and nomifensine (53 ng/ml) appeared within 1.5-2 h; the half-life of elimination from plasma was 1.5-2 hours. The advantages of this routine method are high sensitivity, the requirement of small amounts of plasma, and simple handling.