OBJECTIVE: To establish a new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determining the concentration of cefazolin, cefradine, cefoperazone and cefotaxime in blood and urine, as well as to investigate its applicability. METHODS: Protein in blood and urine was precipitated directly by acetonitrile with acetanilide was used as the internal standard using Agilent Zorbax SB-Aq column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm). The mixed solvents of water (triethylamine 0.12%, acetic acid 0.12%) and acetonitrile were used as the mobile phase to separate cephalosporins using gradient elution method at 1 mL/min (flow rate) and 254 nm (detection wavelength). RESULTS: The working curve of four cephalosporins showed a good correlation (r = 0.9993), with the detection limit up to 0.01 microg/mL. The recovery rate was more than 81.2%. CONCLUSION This method is fast, easy and accurate. It is suitable for biological analysis of the 4 cephalosporins of the blood and urine in practical cases.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/urine* ; Cefazolin/urine* ; Cefoperazone/urine* ; Cefotaxime/urine* ; Cephalosporins/urine* ; Cephradine/urine* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Humans ; Male ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Specimen Handling