Pharmacokinetics and absolute oral bioavailability of stemazole by UPLC–MS/MS and its bio‐distribution through tritium labeling

Abstract The small molecule, stemazole, has significant therapeutic effects on neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), due to its neuroprotective effects and remarkable survival‐promoting activity in stem cells. However, pharmacokinetic properties of stemazole were unclear. In this study, a rapid and effective ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC−MS/MS) method was developed to detect stemazole. The detector was operated in the positive‐ion mode with an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC ® BEH C 18 column with gradient elution. Stemazole was extracted from plasma following a one‐step protein precipitation method. The method was fully validated for its selectivity, specificity, and sensitivity. The calibration curve range of 5–1125 ng/mL showed good linearity for stemazole. Intra‐day and inter‐day precision rates were less than 10%, and accuracy ranged from 95.87% to 105.23%. The pharmacokinetic profiles were illustrated through the newly developed method for the first time. The absolute oral bioavailability of stemazole is 32.10%. Therefore, it is feasible as an oral medication, which greatly facilitates its broad application. The biological distribution of tritium‐labeled stemazole in mice was studied, and the results showed that stemazole was absorbed rapidly and distributed widely, mainly in the liver and kidneys. A specific amount was also detected in the brain, which provides a prerequisite for the use of stemazole to treat neurodegenerative diseases. This work represents first description of the pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and tissue distribution of stemazole and will lay the foundation for further investigation and drug development.