Determination of third-generation cephalosporins by high-performance liquid chromatography in connection with pharmacokinetic studies

The third-generation cephalosporins are semisynthetic p-lactam antibiotics, including several oral and parenteral agents with extended activity against Gram-negative pathogens. They are generally determined either by microbiological techniques or by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The major drawback of bioassays is the lack of specificity, especially when a biotransformation of the cephalosporin molecule leads to active metabolites, or when the antibacterial therapy is based on association with drugs. Thus, for many years, numerous reversed-phase HPLC procedures have been proposed to overcome these difficulties. This review presents different HPLC methods proposed for the quantification in biological fluids of fourteen third-generation cephalosporins, ranged between parenteral and oral compounds. The sensitivity and specificity of these chromatographic procedures are discussed with regard to the pharmacokinetic properties of the antibiotics studied. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.