SIMULTANEOUS QUANTIFICATION OF CEFOTAXIME, DESACETYLCEFOTAXIME, OFLOXACINE AND CIPROFLOXACINE IN OCULAR AQUEOUS-HUMOR AND IN PLASMA BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Cefotaxime, given intravenously, is currently used as a broad-spectrum antibiotic for prophylaxis of intra- and postoperative infections in ocular lens surgery. A proposed therapeutic and economic alternative i s the use of orally active fluoroquinolone ofloxacine as prophylactic agent. A HPLC method was developed for determination of both antibioti cs in ocular aqueous humor and plasma in order to optimize dosage for safe surpassing minimal inhibitory concentration in the humor compartm ent. For plasma determinations a solid-phase extraction procedure was used with ciprofloxacine as internal standard. Detection limits for di rect HPLC-analysis of ocular aqueous humor was 0.08 mu g/ml for all co mpounds, whereas in plasma 0.31 mu g/ml could be determined after soli d-phase extraction. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.