Interlaboratory study of the analysis of benzylpenicillin by liquid chromatography

Rapid monitoring of benzylpenicillin sodium using Raman and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

At present, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy are usually used to detect drug molecules, however the information about using Raman spectroscopy to detect drug molecules is very few. In this work normal Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy were utilized to study benzylpenicillin sodium (NaBP). The results show that NaBP is close to the surface of silver substrate through the carboxyl group, and the detection limit of NaBP is reduced to 1×10(-7) mol/L. Accordingly, the quantitative analysis of NaBP can be carried out in the range of 1×10(-4)-1×10(-7) mol/L concentration. And it is proved that NaBP is not stable in acid and alkali conditions and the decomposition reaction is very complex.

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.

HPLC separation of antibiotics present in formulated and unformulated samples

Analysis of antibiotics in formulated and unformulated samples demand a highly specific and rapid method as many antibiotics (e.g. beta-lactams) have serious stability problems. HPLC techniques can provide a valuable tool for generating highly pure preparations for characterizing the antimicrobial activities. In the present review article, column and mobile phase conditions for the various classes of antibiotics viz. penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, quinolones, rifamycins etc. have been presented from April 1998 to November 2000. A brief discussion on chemical structure, spectrum of activity and action mechanism of each class has also been given.