Determination of amdinocillin in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid, sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay was developed for the determination of amdinocillin (formerly mecillinam) in human plasma and urine. The assay is performed by direct injection of a plasma protein-free supernatant or a dilution of urine. A 10 micrometer muBondapak phenyl column with an eluting solvent of water--methanol--1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7 (70:30:0.5) was used, with UV detection of the effluent at 220 nm. Azidocillin potassium salt [potassium-6-(D-(-)-alpha-azidophenyacetamido)-penicillanate] was used as the internal standard and quantitation was based on peak height ratio of amdinocillin to that of the internal standard. The assay has a recovery of 74.4 +/- 6.3% (S.D.) in the concentration ranges of 0.1-20 microgram per 0.2 ml of plasma with a limit of detection equivalent to 0.5 microgram/ml plasma. The urine assay was validated over a concentration range of 0.025-5 mg/ml of urine, and has a limit of detection of 0.025 mg/ml (25 microgram/ml) using a 0.1-ml urine specimen per assay. The assay was applied to the determination of plasma and urine concentrations of amdinocillin following intravenous administration of a 10 mg/kg dose of amdinocillin to two human subjects. The HPLC and microbiological assays were shown to correlate well for these samples.