Rapid and sensitive determination of meropenem in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

A sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic method using UV detection, has been developed for the analysis of meropenem in plasma. This involved a single liquid-solid extraction on Isolute C-18-EC column in the presence of an internal standard (ceftazidime). Analysis was performed by isocratic elution with a mobile phase consisting of 0.01 M acetate buffer pH 4.8 containing 15% (v/v) methanol, with UV detection at 296 nm. The limit of quantitation of the assay was 0.125 mg/L. The method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats receiving 100 mg/kg by IV route with a good accuracy (94-101%) and precision (less than 13%).