High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of cefepime and cefazolin in human plasma and dialysate

A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of cefepime and cefazolin in human plasma and dialysate. For component separation, the method utilized a C-18 column with an aqueous mobile phase of dibasic potassium hydrogen phosphate (pH 7.0) and methanol gradient at a flow rate of 1 mL min(-1). The method demonstrated linearity from 2.0 to 100.0 mu g mL(-1) (r > 0.999) with detection limit of 1 mu g mL(-1) for both cefepime and cefazolin. The method was utilized for evaluation of plasma and dialysate samples in a clinical study evaluating the dialyzer clearance of cefepime and cefazolin using high-flux hemodialysis with varying blood flow rates in chronic kidney failure patients undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatment.