Micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the analysis of cefpirome in microdialysis and plasma samples obtained in vivo from human volunteers

Pharmacokinetics of drugs in the human interstitial space fluid can be moni tored by means of microdialysis. However, the small-volume microdialysis sa mples containing low drug concentrations require a sensitive analytical met hod. In the present study, micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is described for the quantification of cefpirome in human microdialysis and p lasma samples. Sample preparation of human plasma samples by ultracentrifug ation was suitable for comparison of plasma and microdialysate concentratio ns. Limits of quantification were 2 mu g/mL and 0.3 mu g/mL for plasma and microdialysate samples, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was esti mated at 0.2 mu g/mL for the plasma and microdialysate samples. in conclusi on, MEKC is a reliable and reproducible technique for measuring cefpirome c oncentrations in microdialysates as well as centrifuged plasma samples.