Determination of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in rat brain microdialysis samples following intraperitoneal fluoxetine administration

Fluoxetine (FLX) and the N-desmethyl metabolite, norfluoxetine (NFLX) in rat brain microdialysis samples were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection using pre-column derivatization with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F). In vitro experiment showed that the relative recovery of FLX across microdialysis membrane was enhanced by adding β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) or β-CD polymer to microdialysis perfusion fluid. The perfusion fluid containing β-CD polymer, which has polymeric glyceryl linkers attached to the hydroxyl group, gave the better recovery with satisfactory precisions. Using 1% β-CD polymer in Ringer’s solution as the perfusate, in vivo rat brain microdialysis experiment on intraperitoneal administration of FLX (10 mg/kg) to rats was carried out. The fluorescence peaks of FLX and NFLX appeared later than 30 min after the administration of FLX, and then, gradually increased with time. Two hours later, FLX reached a plateau level, but NFLX slowly increased, and at 24-48 h, NFLX levels were higher than FLX levels. These data suggest that long distributions of FLX and the potent metabolite, NFLX, in brain contributed to the long-term drug actions in vivo.