High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent, 2-(10,11-dihydro-10-oxodibenzo[b,f]thiepin-2-yl)propionic acid, in human plasma and urine

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantitation of a new anti-inflammatory agent, 2-(10,11-dihydro-10-oxodibenzob,f]thiepin-2-yl)propionic acid (CN-100; I), has been developed. The assay consists in extracting samples containing I and mefenamic acid, the internal standard, under acidic conditions and analysis by reversed-phase chromatography using ultraviolet detection at 330 nm. Preliminary plasma concentration-time and cumulative urinary excretion profiles from a healthy subject following oral administration of the tablet formulation are presented. This method is simple, sensitive and reproducible and is applicable to studies of the pharmacokinetic behaviour of I in humans.