Determination of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the analysis of the anti-bacterial agent cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime in physiological fluids. Plasma or serum samples were mixed with chloroform--acetone to remove proteins and most lipid material. The aqueous phase was then freeze-dried, reconstituted in mobile phase and chromatographed on a reversed-phase column using UV detection at 262 nm. Urine was analysed directly after centrifugation to remove particulate matter. The detection limit was 0.5--1.0 micrograms/ml for serum and 5 micrograms/ml for urine. The method has been applied to the analyses of cefotaxime and desacetylcefotaxime in plasma, serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, and pus from infected wound secretions. Two additional metabolites, which are lactones in which the beta-lactam ring has been opened, could be separated by this method.