Chlorpromazine Uptake by Isolated Rat Hepatocytes

Abstract

Isolated rat hepatocytes adsorbed (nonspecific binding) and absorbed the psychotropic drug chlorpromazine. The linearity of chlorpromazine adsorption was dependent on the drug concentration in the incubation medium. The absorption of chlorpromazine was linear with respect to the drug concentration, suggesting an unsaturable uptake process which was considered to represent simple diffusion, with a diffusion coefficient of 0.15 nmol chlorpromazine/mg protein per min per .mu.M. Chlorpromazine uptake was not inhibited by the action of a series of metabolic inhibitors present in the reaction medium. The drug is rapidly adsorbed onto hepatocellular membranes to a large extent.