Identification of new aqueous chemical degradation products of isophosphoramide mustard.

NMR (31P, 1H and 13C) spectroscopy was used to study the products of the degradation of isophosphoramide mustard (IPM) in buffered solutions at pH ranging from 1 to 13. At pH < or = 1, the only degradation compounds detected were phosphate ion (Pi) and chloroethylammonium chloride (CEA-HCl), resulting from the breakdown of the two P-N bonds (pathway Ia). At pH 9.3 and 13, only the products of 1,3-cyclization of the N-chloroethyl group (monoaziridinylIPM (monoAzIPM) and a very low level of bisaziridinylIPM (bisAzIPM)) were found after approximately 15 h of reaction (pathway II). At intermediate pH, the two pathways coexist. At pH 3.5 and 5.0, the P-N bond hydrolysis is the major pathway, but two final phosphorylated products were detected, Pi which represented 67% (pH 3.5) and 17% (pH 5.0) of all the IPM phosphorylated degradation products after approximately 15 h of reaction, and phosphorylethanolamine (PEA) which represented 16% (pH 3.5) and 46% (pH 5.0) of the same sum. PEA formation can be explained by the 1,5-cyclization of a transient compound giving a 1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine intermediate whose P-N bond is exclusively cleaved in acidic medium. The presence of monohydroxyIPM (monoOHIPM) (whose percentage increases with pH from 5% (pH 3.5) to approximately 28% (pH 5.0) of all the IPM phosphorylated degradation compounds), probably coming from the alkylation by water of an aziridine/aziridinium intermediate, demonstrates the occurrence of pathway II. At pH 7.0 and 7.4, the pathway II is initiated first, leading to 1,3-cyclization(s), followed by water alkylation of the aziridines formed. The sequences are IPM 1-->monoAzIPM 5-->bisAzIPM 9; IPM 1-->monoAzIPM 5-->monoOHIPM 6-->monoAzIPM with a N-hydroxyethylchain (presumed structure) 7-->dihydroxyIPM 8. Nevertheless, PEA and Pi are the final products observed, which implies the P-N bond hydrolysis of products 5-9 as demonstrated by the presence in the medium of CEA, aziridine and ethanolamine.

Chemical stability and fate of the cytostatic drug ifosfamide and its N-dechloroethylated metabolites in acidic aqueous solutions.

31P NMR spectroscopy was used to study the products of the decomposition of the antitumor drug ifosfamide (IF, 1d) and its N-dechloroethylated metabolites, namely, 2,3-didechloroethylIF (1a) and 2- (1b) and 3-dechloroethylIF (1c), in buffered solutions at acidic pH. The first stage of acid hydrolysis of these four oxazaphosphorines is a P-N bond cleavage of the six-membered ring leading to the phosphoramidic acid monoesters (2a-d) of type R'HN(CH(2))(3)OP(O)(OH)NHR, with R and/or R' = H or (CH(2))(2)Cl. The electron-withdrawing chloroethyl group at the endocyclic and/or exocyclic nitrogens counteracts the endocyclic P-N bond hydrolysis. This effect is even more marked when the N-chloroethyl group is in the exocyclic position since the order of stability is 1d > 1c > 1b > 1a. In the second stage of hydrolysis, the remaining P-N bond is cleaved together with an intramolecular attack at the phosphorus atom by the non-P-linked nitrogen of the compounds 2a-d. This leads to the formation of a 2-hydroxyoxazaphosphorine ring with R = H (3a coming from compounds 2a,c) or (CH(2))(2)Cl (3b coming from compounds 2b,d) and to the release of ammonia or chloroethylamine. The third step is the P-N ring opening of the oxazaphosphorines 3a,b leading to the phosphoric acid monoesters, H(2)N(CH(2))(3)OP(O)(OH)(2) (4a) and Cl(CH(2))(2)HN(CH(2))(3)OP(O)(OH)(2) (4b-1), respectively. For the latter compound, the chloroethyl group is partially (at pH 5.5) or totally (at pH 7.0) cyclized into aziridine (4b-2), which is then progressively hydrolyzed into an N-hydroxyethyl group (4b-3). Compounds 3a,b are transient intermediates, which in strongly acidic medium are not observed with (31)P NMR. In this case, cleavage of the P-N bond of the type 2 phosphoramidic acid monoesters leads directly to the type 4 phosphoric acid monoesters. The phosphate anion, derived from P-O bond cleavage of these latter compounds, is only observed at low levels after a long period of hydrolysis. Compounds 1a-c and some of their hydrolytic degradation products (4b-1, 4b-2, diphosphoric diester [Cl(CH(2))(2)NH(CH(2))(3)OP(O)(OH)](2)O (5), and chloroethylamine) did not exhibit, as expected, any antitumor efficacy in vivo against P388 leukemia. (31)P NMR determination of the N-dechloroethylated metabolites of IF or its structural isomer, cyclophosphamide (CP), and their degradation compounds could provide an indirect and accurate estimation of chloroacetaldehyde amounts formed from CP or IF.

Urinary excretion of cyclophosphamide in humans, determined by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Phosphorus-31 NMR spectroscopy was used to analyze urine samples from patients treated with cyclophosphamide (CP) on 2 consecutive days. CP and all of its known phosphorylated metabolites except the tautomeric pair 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide/aldophosphamide, i.e. carboxycyclophosphamide (CXCP), dechloroethylcyclophosphamide (DCCP), alcophosphamide, ketophosphamide, and phosphoramide mustard (PM), were determined. Several other signals corresponding to unknown CP-related compounds were observed. Seven of them were identified; all were hydrolysis products of CP or its metabolites (one from CP, two from CXCP, three from DCCP, and one from PM). Twenty-four-hour urinary excretion of unmetabolized CP was not significantly different on the first (17% of the daily administered dose) and second (16%) days of treatment. The amounts of phosphorylated metabolites excreted in 24-hr urine samples were much higher after the second CP dose (37%) than after the first (20%), suggesting autoinduction of CP metabolism. CXCP and its two degradation products (accounting for 7-10% of CXCP) were by far the major metabolites (11.5 and 23% after the first and second doses, respectively). DCCP plus its degradation products and alcophosphamide each represented 2-3% on the first day of treatment and 5% on the second day of treatment. Levels of PM and its degradation products were extremely low (0.3 and 0.6% after the first and second CP doses, respectively), as were those of ketophosphamide (0.4 and 0.6% on the first and second days of treatment, respectively). We noted only modest interpatient variation in excreted levels of CP and all of its metabolites.

Stability of commercial formulations and aqueous solutions of ifosfamide: a reply.

This study is a reply to a paper in this journal reporting on the chemical instability of ifosfamide (IF) (Drug Metab. Dispos. 23, 433-437, 1995). The authors describe chloroethylamine as a major degradation product of IF in both the powder and aqueous solutions. In the present study, we show that: i) IF powder remains pure up to 3-5 years after its expiration date; ii) solutions of IF at pH 7 are stable for at least 12 hr at 40 degrees C; and iii) solutions of IF at pH 4 or pH 10 are only slightly degraded (approximately 1%) after standing for 6 hr at 37 degrees C. We also demonstrate that the reported IF instability depends on the analytical procedure used. The trifluoroacetylation procedure used by the authors, which is conducted in dichloromethane, led to low derivatization yields and to the formation of several degradation compounds of IF, among them chloroethylamine. In contrast, when the trifluoroacetylation reaction is conducted in ethyl acetate, there is high yield of trifluoroacetylated IF, and degradation compounds are minor. In conclusion, we believe that the large amounts of chloroethylamine reported by the authors in both powder and aqueous solutions of IF stemmed from degradation linked to the method of derivatization. Because IF is not readily derivatized by trifluoroacetic anhydride in dichloromethane, the combination of heating with possible uncontrolled evaporation of solvent and the presence of trifluoroacetic acid in the medium lead to degradation of IF and formation of chloroethylamine.

Urinary stability of carboxycyclophosphamide and carboxyifosfamide, two major metabolites of the anticancer drugs cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide.

Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to evaluate the stability of carboxycyclophosphamide (CXCP) and carboxyifosfamide (CXIF) in human urine at pH 7.0 and 5.5 at 25 degrees, 8 degrees, -20 degrees, and -80 degrees C. At 25 degrees C and pH 7.0, CXCP and CXIF are relatively stable (approximately 10% degradation in 24 h). In contrast, they are much less stable at pH 5.5 (approximately 80% degradation of CXIF and approximately 50% degradation of CXCP in 24 h). The rate of degradation of CXCP and CXIF was a function of the storage temperature of the urine samples but, even at -80 degrees C, was not negligible: approximately 30% degradation for CXCP irrespective of pH and approximately 40% and 50% degradation for CXIF at pH 7.0 and 5.5, respectively, after storage for 6 months. CXCP was more stable than CXIF at either pH (7.0 or 5.5) and at all storage temperatures (8 degrees, -20 degrees, or -80 degrees C) of the urine samples. CXCP and CXIF were more stable at pH 7.0 than at pH 5.5, although this difference fell with decreasing temperatures to be almost negligible at -80 degrees C. To ensure a true estimate of CXCP and CXIF levels, urine samples must be frozen and stored at -80 degrees C within a few hours of micturition. CXCP and CXIF assays should also be carried out within 2 months and 1 month of storage, respectively.

Synthesis and antitumor activity of two ifosfamide analogs with a five-membered ring.

Two ifosfamide (CAS 3778-73-2) analogs with a five-membered ring, i.e. the oxazaphospholidine derivatives 6 and 7, were synthesized and their cytotoxic activity in vitro, acute toxicity and antitumor activity in vivo determined in comparison with the oxazaphorinane ifosfamide 1. The observed low biological activity gives evidence that both, the six-membered oxazaphosphorinane ring and the two N-2-chloroethyl-side chains are necessary for the generation of the ultimate alkylator, i.e. the ifosfamide mustard 5.

Chemical and biological evaluation of hydrolysis products of cyclophosphamide.

31P NMR spectroscopy was used to study the products of the decomposition of cyclophosphamide (1) in buffered solutions at pH's ranging between 1.2 and 8.6 at 20 degrees C and at pH 7.4 at 37 degrees C. At pH 1.2, 1 undergoes a rapid breakdown (t1/2 = 1.4 days) of the two P-N bonds, giving compounds 2 [HN(CH2CH2Cl)2] and 3 [H2N(CH2)3OP(O)(OH)2] as hydrochlorides. No intermediates were detected. At pH's between 5.4 and 8.6, hydrolysis of 1 during 17 days leads to the sole and previously unknown nine-membered ring compound 13. 13 results from the intramolecular alkylation of 1 giving the bicyclic compound 7 followed by the exothermal hydrolytic breakdown of the P-N bond of its six-membered ring. At pH 2.2 and 3.4, the two hydrolytic pathways coexist since, beside compounds 2 and 3, the hydrochloride of compound 9 [Cl(CH2)2NH(CH2)2NH(CH2)3OP(O)(OH)2] is formed, resulting from the acid-catalyzed breakdown of the P-N bond in the nine-membered ring compound 13. At pH 2.2, the presence of chloride ion affected neither the stability of 1 nor the contribution of the two competing hydrolytic pathways. At pH's ranging from 3.4 to 8.6, there is little degradation of 1 since more than 95% of initial 1 was still present after 7 days at 20 degrees C. Under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 37 degrees C) after 6 days, 45% of 1 is hydrolyzed (t1/2 = 6.6 days), leading essentially (30% of initial 1) to the nine-membered ring compound 13. The rate of hydrolysis of 13 and the nature of its hydrolysis products were found to depend on pH over the range 0-8.6. After a single ip injection to mice, compounds 3, 9, and 13 were less toxic than 1. They did not exhibit any direct cytotoxic efficacy on the colony-forming capacity of L1210 cells in vitro, and they had no antitumor activity in vivo against P388 leukemia.

Direct detection of the intracellular formation of carboxyphosphamides using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used in conjunction with cell perfusion techniques to monitor the intracellular chemistry of the cyclophosphamide (CP, CAS 6055-19-2) metabolites 4-hydroxy-cyclophosphamide (4-HO-CP) and aldophosphamide (AP) in U937 human histiocytic (CP-sensitive) and K562 human erythroleukemia (CP-resistant) cells. Similar experiments were carried out using the ifosfamide (IF, CAS3778-73-2) metabolites 4-hydroxyifosfamide (4-HO-IF) and aldoifosfamide (AIF). The hydroxy and aldehydic metabolites were generated by the triphenylphosphine reduction of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HO2-CP) or 4-hydroperoxyifosfamide (4-HO2-IF) or by a spontaneous elimination/addition reaction involving water and 4-thiocyclophosphamide analogs 4-(2-hydroxyethyl) thiocyclophosphamide (4-ESCP) or mafosfamide. Cell death resulting from 4-HO-CP/AP perfusions was mimicked by perfusion with acrolein or an acrolein producing but non-alkylating, dechloro-CP analog. Acrolein toxicity was minimized by the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol or mesna (sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate) in perfusion solutions as well as by fractional dose drug perfusions (sequential 2.5-3.0 h perfusions separated by cell washes with drug-free medium). The intracellular half-life for phosphoramide mustard (PM) at an intracellular pH value of 7.1 +/- 0.1 and an ambient probe temperature of 23 +/- 1 degree C in U937 cells was 2.1 h [k = (5.4 +/- 0.3) x 10(-3) min-1] and in K562 cells was 3.1 h [k = (3.7 +/- 0.4) x 10(-3) min-1]. Similar half-lives (2-4 h) were determined for intracellular isophosphoramide mustard (IPM). Fractional dose perfusion of U937 or K562 cells with 1.5 mmol/l 4-HO-CP/AP (generated from 4-HO2-CP) and 0.3 mmol/l mesna allowed for the observation of intracellular carboxyphosphamide (CBP); CBP was formed in higher concentrations in the CP-resistant K562 cells. Similar results were obtained using 4-ESCP and mafosfamide as sources of 4-HO-CP/AP. Identification of CBP was based on chemical shift, chemical stability, and membrane permeability studies of synthetic CBP. Concentrations of carboxyifosfamide (CBIF) formed in K562 cells were also greater than that in U937 cells.

Determination of the urinary excretion of ifosfamide and its phosphorated metabolites by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to analyze urine samples obtained from patients treated with ifosfamide (IF). This technique allows the individual assay of all phosphorated metabolites of IF in a single analysis without the need for prior extraction. In addition to the classic IF metabolites 2-dechloroethylifosfamide (2DEC1IF), 3-dechloroethylifosfamide (3DEC1IF), carboxyifosfamide (CARBOXYIF), and isophosphoramide mustard (IPM), several signals corresponding to unknown phosphorated compounds were observed. Four of them were identified: one is alcoifosfamide (ALCOIF), two come from the degradation of 2,3-didechloroethylifosfamide (2,3-DEC1IF), and one results from the decomposition of 2DEC1IF. The total cumulative drug excretion as measured over 24 h in nine patients was 51% of the injected IF dose; 18% of the dose was recovered as unchanged IF. The major urinary metabolites were the dechloroethylated compounds, with 3DEC1IF excretion (11% of the injected dose) always being superior to 2DEC1IF elimination (4% of the injected dose). Degradation compounds of 2DEC1IF and 2,3DEC1IF represented 0.4% of the injected dose. The metabolites of the dechloroethylation pathway always predominated over those of the activation pathway (CARBOXYIF, ALCOIF, and IPM, representing 3%, 0.8%, and 0.2% of the injected dose, respectively). In all, 14% of the injected dose was excreted as unknown phosphorated compounds. The interpatient variation in levels of IF metabolites was obvious and involved all of the metabolites. Renal excretion was not complete at 24 h, since 11% of the injected dose was recovered in the 24- to 48-h urine samples.

A new approach to the study of ifosfamide metabolism by the analysis of human body fluids with 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

[31P] nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to analyze body fluids from patients treated with ifosfamide (IF). This technique, which requires no labeled drug, allows a direct study of the biological sample with no need for extraction or derivatization and a simultaneous detection and quantification of all the different phosphorated metabolites in a single analysis. In urine, isophosphoramide mustard was detected in addition to the already known human urinary compounds [i.e., unchanged IF, carboxyifosfamide, 2-dechloroethylifosfamide, 3-dechloroethylifosfamide, ketoifosfamide]. 2,3-Didechloroethylifosfamide itself was not found, but two of its degradation compounds were detected, thus showing a minor route of didechloroethylation of IF in humans. Several other signals corresponding to unknown metabolites or to degradation compounds of IF metabolites were observed. None of them corresponded to IF-activated metabolites (4-hydroxyifosfamide, aldoifosfamide) or to conjugates of IF or its metabolites with mesna. The urinary excretion of IF and metabolites over 24 h amounted to 39 to 50% of the injected dose. Unmetabolized IF was the major compound in 0- to 8-h and 8- to 16-h fractions. 2-Dechloroethylifosfamide and 3-dechloroethylifosfamide were the main metabolites detected in each 8-h fraction. The two unknown compounds at 19.16 ppm and 16.06 ppm represented a non-negligible fraction of the excretion, above that of carboxyifosfamide. Only unchanged IF could be detected in plasma samples. Unmetabolized IF and 3-dechloroethylifosfamide were found in a cerebrospinal fluid sample. Neither IF nor IF metabolites could be observed in the corresponding plasma sample. This indicates a long persistence of these compounds in cerebrospinal fluid.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and molecular structure of mesna.

Mesna (2-mercapto-ethane sulfonic acid sodium salt) is used as a reliably acting uroprotector in cancer chemotherapy with oxazaphosphorine cytostatics. 1H-, 13C[1H]- and C,H-COSY-NMR-spectra are analyzed. In solution state mesna exists predominantly in a trans-rotameric form. These findings are supported by hypothetical gas-phase-structures of mesna, simulated via the program system MOPAC.

[Distribution studies of alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase already unstable at pH 7.0 (37 degrees C) in tumor-bearing mice in connection with its possible use to enhance the selectivity of the chemotherapy of malignant tumors]. / Untersuchungen zur Verteilung einer bereits bei pH 7.0 (37 Grad C) instabilen alpha-L-Arabinofuranosidase in tumortragenden Mäusen im Zusammenhang mit ihrer möglichen Anwendung zur Erhöhung der Selektivität der Chemotherapie maligner Tumoren.

Graffi et al. (1-3) had proposed the use of exogenous enzymes to toxify inactive transport forms of cancerostatic substances. For this purpose, the pH difference between normal tissues and the tumor was to be exploited, which can be essentially increased by the application of glucose and inorganic phosphate (5-7). Earlier studies using alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase obtained from Aspergillus niger have shown that the selectivity of tumor chemotherapy can be increased in this way (4). The alpha-L-arabinofuranosidases known to date are stabile in a wide pH range (9). However, in some moulds we found pH-labile enzymes of this kind that become irreversibly inactivated in the weakly alkaline or neutral pH range (10, 11). Studies on the distribution of the activity of a pH-labile alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from Glomerella myabana in tumor-bearing mice have shown that this enzyme is rapidly eliminated from the organism, in contrast to the pH-stable alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from A. niger. Apart from its excretion via kidney and liver, of importance is the inactivation of the enzyme in the normal tissues. The additional application of glucose strongly increased the activity of this enzyme both in the tumor and in normal tissues (12). By injecting alkaline solutions, stronger inactivation in normal tissues than in the tumor was achieved (13). In the present paper, distribution of an alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from Fusarium species I 50 (11), inactive already at pH 7.0 (37 degrees C), was studied in tumor-bearing mice. The activity of this enzyme could be enriched under various conditions in the tumor, and especially favorable proved to be the additional application of a combination of glucose and inorganic phosphate. Under these conditions, a higher activity than in the tumor was demonstrable only in the kidney, which can possibly be eliminated in larger experimental animals by diuretics or an appropriate alkaline administration. The investigations have shown that the pH-labile alpha-L-arabinofuranosidases, especially those of Fusarium sp., due to their pharmacokinetic behavior are better suited for use in our therapy concept than the hitherto employed enzyme from A. niger. More recently, Tietze (16) has proposed a similar therapy concept, in which also the glucose-increased pH difference between tumor and normal tissue using tumor-own enzymes, exogenous enzymes as well as transport forms of cancerostatic agents spontaneously hydrolysing under weakly acidic pH conditions is to be exploited.

[Pharmacokinetic studies of the activity of a pH-labile alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase following i.v. injection into tumor-bearing mice]. / Pharmakokinetische Untersuchungen der Aktivität einer pH-labilen alpha-L-Arabinofuranosidase nach i.v.-Injektion in tumortragende Mäuse.

In order to increase the selectivity of tumor chemotherapy, Graffi et al. have proposed the application of xenogenic enzymes, which are able to split transport forms of carcinostatics under the pH-conditions in the tumor more vigorously than in the normal tissues. This paper describes the distribution within the body and elimination of the activity of the pH-labile alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase from G. myabena compared with the pH-stable enzyme from A. niger, using tumor bearing mice. In vitro, the pH labile arabinosidase was irreversibly inactivated within a few minutes at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C; however at pH 6.5 it remained active even after several hours. After injection, this enzyme activity was eliminated from the organism by excretion and inactivation within a few hours. Hereby a relatively favourable distribution of the enzyme activity for therapeutic application was reached after 60 minutes. At this time higher activity than in the tumor was measured only in the kidney. The application of glucose led to a strong increase of the enzyme activity in both tumor and normal tissues. This effect was also seen in tumor free mice. In further experiments it will be tried to find out conditions which reduce the glucose induced acidosis. The activity and distribution of the pH-stabile enzyme from A. niger were not influenced by glucose application.

In vitro/in vivo effects of Mesna on the genotoxicity and toxicity of cyclophosphamide--a study aimed at clarifying the mechanism of Mesna's anticarcinogenic activity.

Cyclophosphamide is an effective antitumor agent with considerable side effects such as urotoxicity and carcinogenicity. These negative attributes may be caused by toxic and genotoxic metabolites, respectively. Mesna (sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate) decreases the urotoxicity by scavenging the toxic metabolite acrolein. The present study was aimed at elucidating whether a similar scavenging of genotoxic alkylating intermediates could be found, which might cause the reduction in carcinogenicity. In vitro studies on the genotoxic and toxic properties of cyclophosphamide and its major metabolites to bacteria were therefore performed in the presence of Mesna. Mesna did not reduce the mutagenicity of any of the tested metabolites. Mesna clearly inhibited the toxic properties of acrolein. After in vivo application of Mesna and cyclophosphamide to rats, however, a lower yield of mutagens in the excreted urine was observed than after application of cyclophosphamide only.

A mass spectral study of cyclophosphamide concerning a thermally induced rearrangement reaction.

The electron impact mass spectra of cyclophosphamide (1) are very sensitive towards experimental conditions in view of the kind of sample handling, the type of mass spectrometer used and the temperature of evaporation. The reason for this phenomenon is the elimination of HCl from the molecular ion by a specific 1,5-hydrogen transfer yielding an ion at m/z 224 which is structurally related to the bicyclic compound 4 with its typical fragment ions at m/z 175 and 147. Thermal excitation of the sample increases the intensity of this fragmentation pathway. The fragmentation pattern of 1 and the thermally induced rearrangement reaction has been elucidated by means of isotopic labelling, high-resolution data, metastable ion analysis and some tandem mass spectrometric experiments. Various samples of 1 monohydrate and its commercially available preparations, which are triturates with sodium chloride, differing in the crystal size distribution, showed nearly identical mass spectra on two different magnetic mass spectrometers, provided that the materials were introduced as solids under careful control of the evaporation temperature. The fragmentation via m/z 224 prevails in case of non-crystalline, pre-dissolved samples on one of the instruments used which might be explained by a differing construction of the ion source and the sample cup holder. The conclusions of Mruzek et al. concerning different proportions of stereoisomers in pharmaceutical preparations of 1 lack any analytical evidence.

Activation mechanisms of mafosfamide and the role of thiols in cyclophosphamide metabolism.

cis-Mafosfamide (cis-5) (ASTA Z7557), a stable analogue of cis-4-hydroxycyclophosphamide (cis-2), undergoes rapid decomposition in aqueous phosphate buffer or plasma at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C. The reaction kinetics of cis-5 are complex, and trans-mafosfamide (trans-5) and cis-2 are produced and subsequently disappear over the course of the reaction. The rates of decomposition of cis-5 as well as cis-2 were much faster in plasma than in buffer. The cis-trans isomerization of cis-5 occurred by a specific-base-catalyzed process via iminocyclophosphamide (8) as a transient intermediate. In contrast, formation of cis- and trans-mafosfamide (5) from cis-2 and MESNA (sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate) proceeded by an acid-catalyzed process via the hemithioacetal intermediate (6). The significance of these findings with respect to cyclophosphamide metabolism is discussed.

[Separation and pharmaco-toxicological studies of the enantiomers of Ifosfamide]. / Präparative Trennung der Ifosfamid-Enantiomere und ihre pharmakologisch-toxikologische Untersuchung.

The enantiomers of ifosfamide were isolated chromatographically by the use of an optically active adsorbent. The biological activities of the racemic product and of the enantiomers (+)- and (-)-ifosfamide were compared as to the acute toxicity after single intraperitoneal administration on mice. Futhermore, the antitumor activity has been compared with regard to the rat leukemia L 5222 and the haematotoxicological effect. Under the conditions given, no biological differences between these 3 ifosfamide preparations were observed.

Identification and quantification of metabolite conjugates of activated cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide with mesna in urine by ion-pair extraction and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry.

The high bladder toxicity of the alkylating oxazaphosphorine anticancer drugs, cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide is effectively reduced by the concomitant administration of mesna (sodium 2-mercaptoethane sulphonate). The formation and rapid urinary excretion of conjugates of the activated (4-hydroxylated) oxazaphosphorine metabolites with mesna has been suggested as the pharmacological basis for the selective detoxification, but separation and identification of such metabolites in vivo have been extremely difficult due to their high polarity and chemical lability. In this study an ion-pair extraction procedure in combination with positive and negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry has been developed which enabled the identification and quantification of the conjugation products of activated oxazaphosphorine metabolites with mesna in urine. The conjugates extracted as the tetra-n-butylammonium salts are directly identified by their characteristic positive molecular ion adducts and fragment ions, and the corresponding abundant molecular anions. The pattern of molecular and fragment ion formation was established by comparison of the fast atom bombardment mass spectra of synthetic cyclophosphamide-mesna conjugates with various organic and inorganic counter ions. The ifosfamide-4-(2-thioethylsulphonate) (ifosfamide-mesna) conjugate was identified as a metabolite in the urine of rats, and in patients after administration of the combination, ifosfamide + mesna. By means of a two-step extraction and with the use of suitable analogues as internal standards, procedures for the quantification of parent oxazaphosphorine and of oxazaphosphorine-mesna conjugates by negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry have been developed, and first examples for the determination of excretion kinetics are described.

Chemical characterization of ASTA Z 7557 (INN mafosfamide, CIS-4-sulfoethylthio-cyclophosphamide), a stable derivative of 4-hydroxy-cyclophosphamide.

The primary metabolite of cyclophosphamide (CP, 1), i.e. 4-hydroxy-CP 2, has high pharmacological activity, but it is a very unstable compound. Chemical approaches to the stabilization involved in the substitution of the hydroxy group at the C 4-position, especially by a sulfoalkylthio-moiety. Within this new class of compounds ASTA Z 7557 (2-(bis-(2-chloroethyl]-amino-cis-4-[2-sulfoethyl)-thio)-tetrah ydr o-2H-1,3, 2-oxaza-phosphorine-r-2-oxide cyclohexylamine salt, i.e. cis-4-sulfoethylthio-CP, cis-13) was chosen for further evaluation. Cis-13 was synthesized by condensation of compound 2 and 2-mercapto-ethanesulfonic acid cyclohexylamine salt 14 in aqueous acetone yielding the cis-isomer with high stereoselectivity. It is a white crystalline powder, m.p. 126-134 degrees C, stable at room temperature, with a solubility of 16% in water. The stereochemistry was confirmed by NMR-data and X-ray diffraction. In 0.07 M phosphate buffer at pH 7 and 37 degrees C cis-13 isomerizes to the epimer trans-13, equilibrating at a cis-trans-ratio of 59 to 41 within less than 5 minutes. Simultaneously a rapid initial hydrolysis occurs to 2 and 14 followed by a time period with lower degradation due to the decomposition of 2. The rate of release of 2 increases with decreasing concentration and especially by addition of an oxidant. It could be retarded by addition of the corresponding thiol mesna, sodium 2-mercapto-ethanesulfonate 15, or of another thiol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)