7-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)coumarin (1a) or 4'-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)acetanilide (3a), fluorinated analogs of the well known cytochrome P-450 deethylase (EC 1.14.14.1) substrates 7-ethoxycoumarin (1b) and phenacetin (3b), respectively, remained unaltered after incubation with rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH. In addition, compounds la and 3a showed a moderate activity as inhibitors of the above enzymes. Our results suggest that the CF3CH2O- group could play an important role in the design of bioactive compounds when a metabolic resistance at a specific position is desired.