A specific and rapid HPLC assay for the determination of cefroxadine in human plasma and its application to pharmacokinetic study in Korean

A specific and rapid high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV detection (254 nm) was developed for the determination of cefroxadine in human plasma. The sample extraction was performed by a simple procedure, vortexing and centrifugation of sample following addition of 60% trichloroacetic acid. Cephalexin was used as an internal standard (I.S.). The HPLC analysis was carried out on a Capcell Pak C₁₈ analytical column with a mobile phase of 50 mM ammonium formate buffer/pH 3.5 and acetonitrile (90:10, v/v). No interference was observed near the peaks of cefroxadine and I.S. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.5-40 μg/mL and the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.5 μg/mL. The method was validated with excellent sensitivity, accuracy, precision and stability. This assay was successfully applied to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of cefroxadine in Korean healthy volunteers after an oral administration of two 250 mg cefroxadine capsules. As a result, the plasma half-life was 1.00 ± 0.26 h and the mean AUC_{0-6 h} was 46.25 ± 6.41 μg h/mL. The maximum plasma concentration (C_max) of 17.62 ± 4.87 μg/mL reached 1.44 ± 0.39 h after administration.