Liquid chromatographic assay of cerfuroxime in serum

We describe a procedure for determining cefuroxime concentrations in serum by using high-performance liquid chromatography. The drug is extracted from serum with dimethylformamide and separated from other substances in the extract by reversed-phase chromatography. The ultraviolet (280-nm) absorption of the effluent was monitored and quantitated based on the height of the cefuroxime peak. Intra-and inter-assay imprecision (cv) was less than 3.1 and 4.3%, respectively. Serum concentrations as low as 1.0 mg/liter could be accurately measured. No interference from various other drugs and antibiotics was found. A biological half-life of 52 min in serum was observed after intravenous injection of the drug into a human volunteer.