Transplacental disposition of phencyclidine in the pig

1. Phencyclidine concn in plasma of pregnant and non-pregnant sows and in umbilical cord and neonatal plasma was determined by g.l.c. after a single intramuscular dose of phencyclidine hydrochloride. 2. The rate of elimination of the drug, as determined from plasma phencyclidine concn, was unchanged by pregnancy. 3. Phencyclidine concn in piglet plasma was approx. 10-fold higher than in maternal sow plasma and declined more slowly (t 1/2 about 6 h) than the concn. in adult sows (t 1/2 about 2 h). 4. Studies of phencyclidine uptake by piglet and sow plasma in vitro indicate that the higher concns in piglet plasma are due to a marked affinity of piglet plasma proteins for the drug, although both total protein and albumin concn is lower than in sow plasma.