Enzyme immunoassays for a new angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, zabicipril, and its active metabolite in human plasma: application to pharmacokinetic studies

Zabicipril (S 9650) is a new angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor whose hydrolysis in vivo produces the pharmacologically active metabolite zabiciprilat (S 10211). Two competitive enzyme immunoassays specific for either zabicipril or zabiciprilat have been developed using acetylcholinesterase (E.C. 3.1.1.7) as label. Antibodies were raised in rabbits after immunization with lysil derivatives of zabicipril or zabiciprilat coupled with bovine serum albumin. Assays were performed in 96-well microtiter plates coated with a monoclonal antibody raised against rabbit immunoglobulin G, thus ensuring rapid separation of free and bound fractions of the tracer. The analysis does not require any extraction step. In the case of the assay of zabiciprilat, interference generated by endogenous angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was eliminated by the addition of perindoprilat, another ACE inhibitor. Perindoprilat was not recognized by the antibodies (cross-reactivity < 0.01%) and did not affect assay efficiency. The specificity of the assays was checked by high-performance liquid chromatography of human plasma samples obtained after oral administration of 2 mg of zabicipril. No metabolites or endogenous substances were detected. The mean reproducibility was 15% for the assay of zabicipril and 19% for the assay of zabiciprilat. The quantification limits were 1.2 ng/ml for the zabicipril assay and 0.8 ng/ml for the zabiciprilat assay. These assays are therefore suitable for pharmacokinetic studies and drug monitoring in clinical studies.