First and second derivative spectrophotometric determination of cefoperazone and sulbactam in injections

Development and Validation of Stability Indicating HPLC Method for the Determination of Impurities in the Sterile Mixture of Cefoperazone and Sulbactam

Background:

Cefoperazone Sulbactam injection is a cephalosporin antibiotic with a β- lactamase inhibitor used in the treatment for intra abdominal infections, Urinary track infections, surgical infections, etc. The combination is not official in any of the pharmacopeia for their content and impurities determination.

Introduction:

The present study involves the development of a simple, rapid, accurate, sensitive and stability indicating RP-HPLC method for the quantitative estimation of Cefoperazone Sulbactam mixture and its impurities in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Methods:

0.005 M Tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide buffer solution pH adjusted to 6.80 and Acetonitrile combination has been used in a gradient programme with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The retention time of Cefoperazone and Sulbactam were observed at around 8.5 and 19.5 minutes respectively. The UV detection was carried out at a wavelength of 230 nm. The chromatographic separation was achieved using Waters xbridge C18-150*4.6 mm, 3.5 µm HPLC column. The method has been validated according to the current International Council for Harmonization (ICH) guidelines for the method validation parameters such as Specificity, linearity, range, accuracy, precision, robustness and sensitivity.

Results:

The validation results indicate that the method is specific, as the known impurities and other impurities formed during the forced degradation studies were not co-eluting with the main components. Moreover, all these impurities were found to be spectrally pure, proving the stability indicating power of the method. The linearity and range of the method is in the range of 0.01-150%, highly accurate (100.2%), precise (<1%) and robust.

Conclusion:

The proposed method was accurate and specific for the quantitative analysis of Cefoperazone and Sulbactam and their related impurities in the sterile mixture. Hence the proposed method can be used for the quantification of impurities in routine as well as stability analysis in the development as well as quality control laboratories.

Determination of Cefoperazone Sodium in Presence of Related Impurities by Improved Classical Least Squares Chemometric Methods: A Comparative Study

A comparative study is established among 4 chemometric models depending on classical least squares (CLS) approach, namely, spectral residual augmented CLS (SRACLS), net analyte processing CLS (NAP-CLS), orthogonal signal correction CLS (OSC-CLS), and direct orthogonal signal correction CLS (DOSC-CLS). The comparison is expressed through analysis of a case study dataset of UV spectral data of Cefoperazone Sodium (CEF) and its two related impurities: in pure powder form and in pharmaceutical dosage form. Four-level three-factor experimental design was established for optimum analysis. The adopted experimental design gave rise to a training set consisting of 16 mixtures (containing different ratios of interfering species). To test the prediction power of the suggested models, an independent test set consisting of 9 mixtures was used. The presented results show the ability of the proposed models to quantify CEF in presence of two related impurities with high accuracy and selectivity (103.76±1.03,102.07±0.91,101.61±0.72, and101.60±0.72for SRACLS, NAP-CLS, OSC-CLS, and DOSC-CLS, resp.). Dosage form analysis results were compared statistically to a published HPLC methodology showing insignificant difference in terms of precision and accuracy, indicating the suggested models reliability and their suitability for quality control analysis of drug product. Compared to other models, OSC-CLS and DOSC-CLS models gave more accurate results with lower prediction error for test set samples.

Determination of Cefoperazone Sodium in Presence of Related Impurities by Linear Support Vector Regression and Partial Least Squares Chemometric Models

A comparison between partial least squares regression and support vector regression chemometric models is introduced in this study. The two models are implemented to analyze cefoperazone sodium in presence of its reported impurities, 7-aminocephalosporanic acid and 5-mercapto-1-methyl-tetrazole, in pure powders and in pharmaceutical formulations through processing UV spectroscopic data. For best results, a 3-factor 4-level experimental design was used, resulting in a training set of 16 mixtures containing different ratios of interfering moieties. For method validation, an independent test set consisting of 9 mixtures was used to test predictive ability of established models. The introduced results show the capability of the two proposed models to analyze cefoperazone in presence of its impurities 7-aminocephalosporanic acid and 5-mercapto-1-methyl-tetrazole with high trueness and selectivity (101.87 ± 0.708 and 101.43 ± 0.536 for PLSR and linear SVR, resp.). Analysis results of drug products were statistically compared to a reported HPLC method showing no significant difference in trueness and precision, indicating the capability of the suggested multivariate calibration models to be reliable and adequate for routine quality control analysis of drug product. SVR offers more accurate results with lower prediction error compared to PLSR model; however, PLSR is easy to handle and fast to optimize.

UV spectrophotometric simultaneous determination of cefoperazone and sulbactam in pharmaceutical formulations by derivative, Fourier and wavelet transforms

Signal processing methods based on the use of derivative, Fourier and wavelet transforms were proposed for the spectrophotometric simultaneous determination of cefoperazone and sulbactam in powders for injection. These transforms were successfully applied to UV spectra and ratio spectra to find suitable working wavelengths. Wavelet signal processing was proved to have distinct advantages (i.e. higher peak intensity obtained, additional smooth function and scaling factor process eliminated) over derivative and Fourier transforms. Especially, a better resolution of spectral overlapping bands was obtained by the use of double signal transform in the sequences such as (i) spectra pre-processed by Fractional Wavelet Transform and subsequently subjected to Continuous Wavelet Transform or Discrete Wavelet Transform, and (ii) derivative - wavelet transforms combined. Calibration graphs for cefoperazone and sulbactam were recorded for the range 10-35 mg/L. Good accuracy and precision were reported for all proposed methods by analyzing synthetic mixtures of cefoperazone and sulbactam. Furthermore, these methods were statistically comparable to RP-HPLC.

Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of cefoperazone in bulk powder, pharmaceutical dosage forms, and human urine

The electroreduction behaviour and determination of cefoperazone using a hanging mercury drop electrode were investigated. Cyclic voltammograms of cefoperazone recorded in universal Britton-Robinson buffers pH 3-6 exhibited a single irreversible cathodic peak. The process was adsorption-controlled. Britton-Robinson buffer 0.04 M pH 4.0 was selected as a supporting electrolyte for quantitative purposes by differential pulse and square wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry. The experimental voltammetric conditions were optimized using Central Composite Face design. A reduction wave was seen in the range from -0.7 to -0.8 V. These voltammetric techniques were successfully validated as per ICH guidelines and applied for the determination of cefoperazone in its single and sulbactam containing powders for injection and statistically comparable to USP-HPLC. They were further extended to determine cefoperazone in spiked human urine with no matrix effect.

Quick bioanalytical method of quantification and validation of sulbactam in plasma using high performance liquid chromatography

A quick method of quantitative determination of sulbactam in human plasma, using liquid chromatography-UV spectroscopy, has been developed and validated. After derivatization with imidazole, plasma samples were treated by direct deproteinization with acetonitrile as an extraction solvent. After ultracentrifugation, sulbactam extract was directly injected onto the LC column. Chromatographic separation was performed on TSK Gel Super ODS (50 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 2 μm) using methanol and phosphate buffer with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide solution as a mobile phase. Gradient elution was employed. The method was fully validated according to the United States Food and Drug Administration requirements (linearity, precision, trueness, quantification limit, detection limit, recovery, specificity and stability). The calibration curves were linear within the concentration range of 0.05–4.0 μg mL−1. Good method/system precision and accuracy of the method were demonstrated.

Voltammetric studies on the antibiotic drug cefoperazone

A fully validated simple, sensitive and selective square-wave stripping voltammetry procedure was described for the trace quantification of cefoperazone in bulk form, formulations and human serum/plasma. The procedure was based on reduction of the adsorbed drug onto a hanging mercury drop electrode. The procedural conditions were optimized as: frequency=60Hz, scan increment=8mV, pulse amplitude=25mV, preconcentration potential=-0.3V (versus Ag/Ag/KCl(s)), preconcentration duration=60-150s and an acetate buffer of pH 4.2 as a supporting electrolyte. A limit of detection of 4.5x10(-10)M and a limit of quantitation of 1.5x10(-9)M bulk cefoperazone were achieved following preconcentration of the drug onto the hanging mercury drop electrode for 150s. The proposed square-wave adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetric procedure was successfully applied for trace quantification of cefoperazone in human serum and plasma. The achieved limits of detection and quantitation of the drug in human serum were 6x10(-10)M (0.375ngml(-1)) and 2x10(-9)M (1.250ngml(-1)), respectively. The pharmacokinetic parameters of cefoperazone in plasma of hospitalized volunteers were successfully estimated.

Simultaneous determination of cefatrizine and clavulanic acid in dog plasma by HPLC

A rapid and specific high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of cefatrizine and clavulanic acid in the plasma of beagle dog. The sample pretreatment procedure involved reaction of clavulanic acid with 1,2,4-triazole, which readily produced a derivative with its maximum UV absorption at 314 nm. This derivative was separated in a reverse-phase C-18 column without being interfered by other components present in plasma. Cefatrizine, however, was not derivatized and, therefore determined directly at 269 nm. Sulfanilamide was used as an internal standard. The retention times of sulfanilamide, the derivative, and cefatrizine were, 3.5, 4.9, and 6.0 min, respectively. The assay showed linearity from 2 to 100 microg/ml for cefatrizine and from 1 to 50 microg/ml for clavulanic acid. Precision expressed as R.S.D. ranged from 4.2 to 18.2% for cefatrizine and 5.5 to 15.8% for clavulanic acid. Accuracy ranged from 97.9 to 120% (lower limit of quantitation) for cefatrizine and from 97.7 to 119.2% for clavulanic acid. Extraction efficiencies for cefatrizine, clavulanic acid, and internal standard from dog plasma averaged 79.8+/-5.8%, 84.8+/-6.2%, and 89.0+/-3.8%, respectively. This method was employed successfully to follow the time course of the concentration of cefatrizine and clavulanic acid in beagle dogs following oral administration of cefatrizine and clavulanic acid.

Fluorimetric determination of some antibiotics in raw material and dosage forms through ternary complex formation with terbium (Tb(3+))

A highly sensitive and specific fluorimetric method was developed for the determination of cefazolin sodium I, cefoperazone sodium II, ceftriaxone sodium III, and cefixime IV. The proposed method involves the formation of ternary complex with Tb(3+) in the presence of Tris buffer. The quenching of the terbium fluorescence due to the complex formation was quantitative for the four studied drugs. The effect of pH, concentration of Tris buffer and terbium were studied. The formation of the complex was highly dependent on the pH. The optimum pH was found to be pH 8 for cefazolin sodium I, ceftriaxone sodium III, cefixime IV and pH 10 for cefoperazone sodium II. The optimum concentration for Tb(3+) was found 1 ml of 10(-4) M solution and for Tris buffer 1 ml of the prepared solution. Under the described conditions, the proposed method was applicable over the concentration range 8.79 x 10(-6)-7.91 x 10(-5), 9.7 x 10(-6)-4.49 x 10(-)5, 6.10 x 10(-6)-2.50 x 10(-5), and 4.92 x 10(-6)-2.95 x 10(-5) mol with mean percentage accuracy of 99.79+/-0.24, 98.97+/-1.25, 100.05+/-0.79, and 100.15+/-0.54 for I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The proposed method was applied successfully for the determination of studied drugs in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by applying the described method were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by applying the official method. The proposed method was used as stability indicating method for the determination of the studied drugs in the presence of their degradation products.

Selective spectrophotometric determination of phenolic beta-lactam antibiotics

Two simple and selective spectrophotometric methods were developed for the quantitative determination of cefoperazone sodium, cefadroxil monohydrate, cefprozil anhydrous and amoxicillin trihydrate in pure forms as well as in their pharmaceutical formulations. The methods are based on the selective oxidation of these drugs with either Ce (IV) or Fe (III) in acid medium to give an intense yellow coloured product (lambda(max)=397 nm). The reaction conditions were studied and optimized. Beer's plots were obeyed in a general concentration range of 5-30 microg ml(-1) with correlation coefficients not less than 0.9979 for the four drugs with the two reagents. The methods are successfully applied to the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations containing amoxicillin, either alone or in combination with potassium clavulanate, flucloxacillin or dicloxacillin. They were also applied to the analysis of the other three studied drugs in vials, capsules, tablets and suspensions with good recovery; percent ranged from 99.7 (+/-0.46) to 100.32 (+/-1.05) in the Ce (IV) method and 99.6 (+/-0.50) to 100.3 (+/-1.32) in the Fe (III) method. Interferences from other antibiotics and additives products were investigated.

Selective spectrofluorimetric determination of phenolic beta-lactam antibiotics through the formation of their coumarin derivatives

A simple, sensitive and selective spectrofluorimetric procedure was developed for the determination of amoxycillin, cefadroxil and cefoperazone. The method is based on the reaction between these drugs and ethyl acetoacetate, in acidic medium, to give yellow fluorescent products with excitation wavelengths ranging from 401 to 467 nm and emission wavelengths ranging from 465 to 503 nm. The reaction conditions were studied and optimized. The reaction obeyed Beer's law over the range of 10.0-20.0, 1.5-1.0 and 50.0-100.0 microg ml(-1) for amoxycillin, cefadroxil and cefoperazone, respectively. Interference's from other antibiotics, drugs and dosage forms additives, in capsules and vials dosage forms, were investigated. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations (capsules and vials) containing the above antibiotics, either alone or in combination with other antibiotics or drugs. The validity of the method was tested by the recovery studies of standard addition which were found to be satisfactory. The results of the proposed method demonstrated that the method is equally accurate, precise and reproducible as the official methods (USP XXIII) and those published for the non-official binary mixtures.

HPTLC determination of ceftriaxone, cefixime and cefotaxime in dosage forms

The objective of this investigation was to develop a HPTLC method for the determination of ceftriaxone, cefixime and cefotaxime, cephalosporins widely used in clinical practice. High performance TLC of cephalosporins was performed on pre-coated silica gel HPTLC plates with concentrating zone (2.5 x 10 cm) by development in mobile phase ethyl acetate-acetone-methanol-water (5:2.5:2.5:1.5 v/v/v/v). A TLC scanner set at 270 nm was used for direct evaluation of the chromatograms in reflectance/absorbance mode. The calibration curves were established as dependence of peak height (linear and polynomial regression) and peak area (polynomial regression) versus ng level (125-500 ng for all cephalosporins investigated). Relative standard deviations obtained from calibration curves was compared. Precision (RSD: 1.12-2.91% (peak height versus ng) and RSD: 1.05-2.75% (peak area versus ng)), and detection limits (ng level) was validated and found to be satisfactory. The method was found to be reproducible and convenient for quantitative analysis of ceftriaxone, cefixime and cefotaxime in their raw materials and their dosage forms.

UV-spectrophotometric determination of ampicillin sodium and sulbactam sodium in two-component mixtures

A simple spectrophotometric method is used for the resolution of the binary mixtures of ampicillin sodium and sulbactam sodium. In aqueous solution, zero-order spectra are subject to interference, so first-derivative spectrophotometry was used to enhance the spectral details allowing the determination of ampicillin sodium from the signal at the zero-crossing point for sulbactam sodium at 268 nm. In 0.1 N sodium hydroxide, sulbactam sodium was determined from the absorbance at 260 nm with negligible contribution from ampicillin sodium. Also, sulbactam sodium was determined without interference using first- and second-derivative spectra in 0.1 N sodium hydroxide at 276 nm (peak-height) and 262-284 nm (peak-to-peak), respectively. The method is rapid, simple, does not require a separation step and allows the determination of each drug without interference from the other. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the assay of these drugs in mixtures and in commercial injections.

Simultaneous determination of cefepime and L-arginine in injections by second-derivative spectrophotometry

A simple spectrophotometric assay for the determination of cefepime and L-arginine in injections is described. Since zero-order spectra showed considerable overlap, second-derivative spectrophotometry was used to enhance the spectral details. A linear relationship between second-derivative amplitude and concentration of each compound was found. Beer's law was obeyed up to 50 and 22 micrograms ml-1 of cefepime and arginine, respectively, in the second-derivative mode. Detection limits were 0.31 and 0.58 micrograms ml-1 for cefepime and arginine, respectively. The method, which is rapid, simple and does not require any separation step, has been successfully applied to the assay of commercial injections containing cefepime and arginine.