Inactivation of netilmicin and amikacin by intact or disrupted leucocytes

The bio-inactivation of netilmicin and amikacin by binding with intact and disrupted human normal leucocytes was compared. Even after prolonged incubation of the aminoglycosides with intact cells, no binding could be demonstrated. On the other hand, partial binding of netilmicin and amikacin by disrupted leucocytes occurred: a linear relationship between the logarithm of the initial number of cells and the degree of binding of the drug was observed. The decrease in biological activity occurred rapidly in the presence of disrupted cells and remained unchanged during the next 18 h.