Modification of an Agar Diffusion Method of Assay for Polymyxin

Methods for Determination of Meropenem Concentration in Biological Samples

Measuring the concentration of antibiotics in biological samples allow implementation of therapeutic monitoring of these drugs and contribute to the adjustment of the dosing regimen in patients. This increases the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy, reduces the toxicity of these drugs and prevents the development of bacterial resistance. This review article summarizes current knowledge on methods for determining concentration of meropenem, an antibiotic drug from the group of carbapenems, in different biological samples. It provides a brief discussion of the chemical structure, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of meropenem, different sample preparation techniques, use of apparatus and equipment, knowledge of the advantages and limitations of available methods, as well as directions in which new methods should be developed. This review should facilitate clinical laboratories to select and apply one of the established methods for measuring of meropenem, as well as to provide them with the necessary knowledge to develop new methods for quantification of meropenem in biological samples according to their needs.

The experimental and clinical use of polymyxin, chloromycetin, and aureomycin

Polymyxin is an effective antibiotic for the treatment of severe infections produced by Ps. aeruginosa, H. pertussis, H. influenzae, E. coli, and A. aerogenes. Its toxicity to date precludes its general use in infections susceptible to its therapeutic effects. Chloromycetin has been demonstrated to be an effective antibiotic agent for the treatment of rickettsial diseases and typhoid fever. It will undoubtedly prove effective in the treatment of other infections produced by certain Gram-negative micro-organisms and viral agents. Aureomycin has been shown to be an active antibiotic agent against rickettsial diseases, primary atypical pneumonia, acute brucellosis, pneumococcal, streptococcal, and staphylococcal infections, urinary tract infections produced by E. coli, A. aerogenes and Strept. fecalis, certain types of infections of the eye, and in subacute bacterial endocarditis when the infecting agent is Strept. fecalis. Its clinical use in forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis is in a completely experimental stage. It is not recommended in typhoid fever or in infections due to Ps. aeruginosa or P. vulgaris, and it seems to be ineffective in whooping cough. To date, neither chloromycetin nor aureomycin has shown significant signs of systemic toxicity.