Chromatographic methods of analysis for penicillins in food-animal tissues and their significance in regulatory programs for residue reduction and avoidance

Penicillin dust exposure and penicillin resistance among pharmaceutical workers in Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) adversely impacts the prevention and treatment of a wide range of infections and is considered as a serious threat to global public health. Occupational-related AMR is a neglected area of research.

OBJECTIVE

To assess exposure to penicillin dust, penicillin active materials, and to report the frequency of penicillin resistance among pharmaceutical workers in Tehran, Iran.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was conducted among workers on a penicillin production line in a pharmaceutical company (n = 60) and workers in a food producing company (n = 60). Data were collected via survey, air sampling, and throat swab.

RESULTS

The mean overall concentrations of penicillin dust and penicillin active material were 6.6 and 4.3 mg/m³, respectively, in the pharmaceutical industry. Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) was detected in 45% (27) individuals in the exposed group, 92.6% of which showed penicillin resistance. Resistance was significantly higher among workers in penicillin production line (p = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONS

High level of AMR among workers in penicillin production line is a health risk for the workers as well as society as a whole through the spread of drug resistant micro-organisms.

Chromatographic analysis of penicillins in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids

Natural penicillin (benzylpenicillin) is the oldest antibiotic observed by Alexander Fleming in 1928. To broaden its spectrum of activity, natural penicillin was modified, giving rise to a group of antibiotics under the name 'penicillins'. Although an increasing number of bacteria appear to be resistant to them, penicillins are used to treat a variety of bacterial infections including Gram-positive, Gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Consequently, they are widely used in human and veterinary medicine to prevent and treat diseases. This review covers the analytical methodologies, mainly chromatographic, employed to the penicillins determination in pharmaceutical formulations, biological fluids and in production-scale fermentations reported in the literature. Results of published assays are comparatively presented focusing on sample preparation regarding isolation and purification, chromatographic conditions and method validation. Information on chemical structure, spectrum of activity and action mechanism of common penicillins has also been given.

Determination of the purity of ampicillin by micellar electrokinetic chromatography and reversed phase liquid chromatography on a monolithic silica column

A micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method and a fast reversed-phase liquid chromatographic one have been developed for determining the purity of ampicillin. MEKC separation of ampicillin and its related substances was performed with the use of an untreated fused-silica capillary and 40 mM phosphate-borate buffer, pH 7.5 containing 75 mM SDS. The HPLC method employed a monolithic silica C18 column and a mobile phase composed of phosphate buffer, pH 5.2 and ACN, the flow rate being 4.0 mL/min. Both methods were successfully validated. Linearity, relative response factors, limits of quantitation, intermediate precision, and accuracy were evaluated. The methods proved to be fast, reliable, and sufficiently sensitive and, accordingly, well-suited for control of purity of ampicillin substance, injections, and capsules. A combination of both methods can be very useful in the confirmation of impurity profiles.

Effect of immobilization on the penicillin binding and reactivity properties of DD-peptidase from Streptomyces R61

An affinity gel matrix containing an enzyme (DD-peptidase) with specific beta-lactam binding properties was characterized with respect to its binding and reactivity behavior with penicillin. The data show that immobilization of DDP by reaction with the enzymes susceptible amino groups resulted in changes in catalytic activity on a tripeptide substrate, penicillin binding efficiency and pH stability of drug binding. Properties unaffected by immobilization were the drug-enzyme complex stability, binding reaction mechanism, drug selectivity and method of complex desorption. The affinity of DDP for penicillin-G was investigated by surface plasmon resonance. These characteristics were compared with those of the soluble enzyme. Conditions for elution of the bound drug were determined and a method for immobilizing Streptomyces DDP by which its binding site structure is sustained was also evaluated.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of penicillins by means of automated solid-phase extraction and photochemical degradation with electrochemical detection

An automated precolumn exchange system for on-line solid-phase extraction (OPS-2) coupled to liquid chromatography with photochemical degradation and electrochemical detection was used for the determination of residual amounts of penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin. A 5-10-fold increase in sensitivity was obtained when compared with direct UV detection of penicillins at 225 nm. The system is recommended for samples that have received an immunoaffinity clean-up. Analysis of bovine muscle tissue indicated, however, that this procedure could also be suitable for the determination of penicillin G at its maximum residue limit of 50 micrograms/kg even with conventional solvent partitioning for the first clean-up steps.

A microtitre plate-based assay for the screening of beta-lactams

A simple, rapid, sensitive and automatizable method for the detection and quantification of bacterial cell wall inhibitors has been developed. The procedure is characterized by the use of a micro-organism hypersensitive to beta-lactam antibiotics that contains an inducible cytosolic beta-galactosidase; this enzyme is released when the micro-organism cell wall is disrupted by the antibiotic action, and then measured by the use of a chromogenic substrate. The present method allows the detection of beta-lactam traces in other non-beta-lactam antibiotics, and has been successfully applied in the detection of small amounts of beta-lactams in biological fluids such as milk and Actinomycetes fermentation broths. The easy automatization of this method makes it specially suitable for the screening of new antibiotics of natural origin.

Applications of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry interfacing systems in food analysis: pesticide, drug and toxic substance residues

This paper reviews applications of different LC-MS techniques for the determination of xenobiotic substances in foods. Specific examples of contaminants discussed are pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and drugs; concerning toxic substances, mycotoxins, phycotoxins, cyanobacterial toxins, mutagenic and heterocyclic amines and beta-carbolines, arsenic, tin and inorganic halogen compounds, packaging materials and various epoxy resins are considered. Advantages and limitations are outlined for the different LC-MS interfacing systems (particle beam, thermospray, atmospheric pressure ionization with electrospray, ionspray and heated pneumatic nebulizer). The impact of developments in instrumental analysis on methodology and the limitations of the various LC-MS methods are discussed. Further, the coupling of LC with element-selective detection systems such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is discussed, with emphasis on speciation of trace toxic elements in foods.

Automated column liquid chromatographic determination of amoxicillin and cefadroxil in bovine serum and muscle tissue using on-line dialysis for sample preparation

A fully automated method is described for the determination of amoxicillin and cefadroxil in bovine serum and muscle tissue. The method is based on the on-line combination of dialysis and solid-phase extraction for sample preparation, and column liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. In order to enhance the UV detectability of the analytes, post-column addition of 0.1 M sodium hydroxide is performed. The method shows good linearity and repeatability for both analytes in serum as well as in muscle tissue; the limits of detection in these samples are 0.05 microgram/ml and 0.2 microgram/g, respectively. The method has a sample throughput of 30 samples per 24 h.

Particle beam liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method with negative ion chemical ionization for the confirmation of oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin residues in bovine muscle

To ensure human food safety, the European Union has defined maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drug residues in food products. Analytical methods need to be developed to confirm the presence of drugs at the MRL level. A method using particle beam liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed for the confirmation of oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin in bovine muscle at the maximum residue limit of 300 micrograms kg-1. Beta-lactams were extracted from tissues with ethyl acetate under slightly acidic conditions and separated on a C18 bonded silica column with a methanol-aqueous formic acid (2%) solution-acetonitrile mobile phase. Negative ion chemical ionization with methane as the reagent gas was used to identify the compounds. The specificity required for a regulatory confirmation procedure was achieved by monitoring five fragment ions for each compound (selected ion monitoring mode): m/z 183, 198, 213, 214 and 241 for oxacillin; m/z 196, 248, 250, 275 and 277 for cloxacillin; m/z 165, 230, 232, 274 and 276 for dicloxacillin.

Enzyme immunoassay for the detection of isoxazolyl penicillin antibiotics in milk

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against isoxazolyl penicillins in rabbits after immunization with a cloxacillin-human serum albumin conjugate. The antisera were tested in direct and indirect competitive enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), using glucose oxidase or horseradish peroxidase conjugates of oxacillin, cloxacillin, or dicloxacillin, respectively, as the labelled antigen. The relative cross-reactivities of each test system with oxacillin, cloxacillin, and dicloxacillin, determined from the amount of antibiotic required for 50% inhibition of labelled antigen binding, were dependent on the antibiotic used as the labelled antigen. Other beta-lactam antibiotics did not cross-react in these test systems. In a direct EIA using a cloxacillin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin in milk were detected at levels of 10 and 30 ng ml-1; the average recoveries at these levels were 102 and 84%, respectively.