Continuous blood withdrawal as a rapid screening method for determining clearance and oral bioavailability in rats

Purpose. To develop a methodology for continuous blood withdrawal in rats suitable for drug discovery screening purposes and perform limited validation studies with a series of test compounds. Methods. A reliable methodology for continuous blood withdrawal in rats was developed. The method is dependent on continuous heparin infusion during withdrawal and the minimization of constrictive, thrombogenic sites. Plasma drug concentrations from either intermittent sampling or continuous withdrawal experiments were determined with HPLC analysis. Results, The continuous withdrawal method was successfully adapted to rats such that blood samples could be reliably collected over a 6-hr experiment. The clearance and oral bioavailability values for theophylline, atenolol, propranolol, warfarin, BMS-182874 and BMS-A were determined from continuous withdrawal or intermittent sampling experiments. The results from the two methods were comparable, with each compound reliably placed in the same low, medium or high category based on clearance or oral bioavailability characteristics. Conclusions. The continuous withdrawal method proved to be a viable alternative to the classic intermittent sampling technique. The method should prove useful in drug discovery screening, where the evaluation of large numbers of compounds for systemic clearance or oral bioavailability is often necessary.