Influence of assay methodology on the measurement of free serum ceftriaxone concentrations.

The influence of assay methodology on the measurement of the active free fraction of ceftriaxone in plasma was determined. The free fraction was measured by three methods: agar diffusion bioassay, precipitation of plasma protein with methanol followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the supernatant, and ultrafiltration of plasma followed by HPLC of the filtrate. In human serum, the free ceftriaxone levels were significantly lower (P = 0.03) when measured on ultrafiltrates compared to the other two methods. This difference disappeared when dolphin serum was studied. After ultrafiltration, human serum was shown, by Scatchard plot analysis, to have two ceftriaxone binding sites. Species differences were also demonstrated. Hence, in humans, determination of free plasma ceftriaxone varies with the assay method employed.