Selection of a new drug discovery candidate from a series of compounds requires a means of performing rapid analytical method development and sensitive quantitation of each drug in serum, plasma or other biological matrices. Information on serum/plasma concentration, bioavailability and half-life can often aid the discovery process by selecting those candidates with the desired pharmacokinetic parameters. In one series of farnesyl protein transferase (FPT) inhibitors, gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) was initially used to analyze samples from pharmacokinetic studies in mice and monkeys. Typical turnaround times using this technique approached 2-4 weeks for method development, quantitation of study samples and calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters. Once LC-atmospheric pressure ionization (API) MS-MS analysis was implemented in these same studies, they could be completed in less than one week. The advantages of using LC-API-MS-MS to aid in the drug candidate selection process is demonstrated for one compound (SCH 44342) in this series of FPT inhibitors. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.
