Tj. Yang et al., HYDROLYSIS OF TEMAZEPAM IN SIMULATED GASTRIC FLUID AND ITS PHARMACOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCE, Journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 83(11), 1994, pp. 1543-1547
Temazepam (TMZ), a hypnotic and anxiolytic drug, underwent hydrolysis
in simulated gastric fluid (SGF; pH 1.2). The hydrolysis reaction of T
MZ in acetonitrile:SGF (1:19, v/v) at 37 degrees C was an apparent fir
st-order reaction, with a half-life of 5.47 +/- 0.17 h (i.e., similar
to 12% of the remaining TMZ was hydrolyzed per hour). The predominant
hydrolysis product l-4'-chloro-N-methyl-2-amino-2-hydroxyacetanilide)
and a minor hydrolysis product [2-(methylamino)-5-chlorobenzophenone],
derived from acid-catalyzed reaction of TMZ in an aqueous solution, w
ere characterized by ultraviolet-visible absorption mass, infrared, an
d proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra analyses. The kinetics of
the hydrolysis reaction were studied as a function of acid concentrati
on, temperature, and ionic strength and in deuterated solvent. Results
indicated that the predominant hydrolysis reaction at pH approximate
to pK(a) (1.46) was caused by protonation at N4, followed by a nucleop
hilic attack by water at C5 of the C5-N4 iminium ion and a subsequent
ring-opening reaction. Pharmacological activity tests in mice indicate
d that the predominant hydrolysis product of TMZ was inactive. The res
ults suggest that a fraction of an orally taken TMZ may be inactivated
by hydrolysis in the highly acidic gastric fluid.