Identification of metabolites of halofantrine, a new candidate anti-malarial drug, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Two previously unknown metabolites of halofantrine, a candidate anti-malarial drug, have been isolated by thin-layer chromatography from the plasma of dogs administered a single oral dose of 60 mg/kg. Their identifies were investigated after trimethylsilylation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry under electron-impact and negative-ion chemical ionization conditions. The structural assignment was further confirmed by using a combination of elemental composition analysis of all the isotope peaks at low mass resolution and isotope pattern matching. These two metabolites were formed by modification of the dibutylaminopropyl side-chain of the parent compound involving deamination and oxidation or reduction.