Description
Misoprostol (free acid)-d5 contains five deuterium atoms at the 16 methyl, 17, and 17' positions. It is intended for use as an internal standard for the quantification of misoprostol (free acid) by GC- or LC-mass spectrometry (MS). Misoprostol is a PGE1 analog with agonist activity mediated by EP2, EP3, and EP4 receptors. It has been shown to inhibit the formation of gastric lesions in rats (ED50 = 0.31 µg/kg), inhibit superoxide generation in human neutrophils (EC50 = 0.35 µM), and relax fetal rabbit ductus arteriosus (EC50 = 0.36 nM) in a concentration dependent manner. Misoprostol is commonly used in clinical medicine for the prevention of peptic ulcer disease. It has also been used in conjunction with RU-486 for the oral induction of first trimester abortion. Misoprostol contains a C-1 methyl ester and is readily absorbed and rapidly hydrolyzed in humans to the active free acid.