SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF CEFEPIME AND L-ARGININE IN INJECTIONS BY 2ND-DERIVATIVE SPECTROPHOTOMETRY

A simple spectrophotometric assay for the determination of cefepime an d L-arginine in injections is described. Since zero-order spectra show ed considerable overlap, second-derivative spectrophotometry was used to enhance the spectral details. A linear relationship between second- derivative amplitude and concentration of each compound was found. Bee r's law was obeyed up to 50 and 22 mu g ml(-1) of cefepime and arginin e, respectively, in the second-derivative mode. Detection limits were 0.31 and 0.58 mu g ml(-1) for cefepime and arginine, respectively. The method, which is rapid, simple and does not require any separation st ep, has been successfully applied to the assay of commercial injection s containing cefepime and arginine.