Isolation and the fluorometric, high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of tacrine

Tacrine (THA; 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine) is an anticholinesterase agent which has been used clinically, most recently in the treatment of Alzheimer-type dementias. This paper describes the methodology for the isolation and quantitation of THA at therapeutic levels in serum from human subjects. Using C18 Bond Elut columns and an HPLC/fluorometry system, this assay exhibits a considerable improvement in sensitivity over previous uv methods, and allows routine testing of THA levels in serum samples of reasonable volume from human subjects.