Simple and rapid analytical method for carbapenems using capillary zone electrophoresis.

A simple and rapid analytical method for carbapenems using high-performance capillary electrophoresis is described. All therapeutic carbapenem injections in Japan (imipenem, panipenem and meropenem) and four other beta-lactams (piperacillin, cefotiam, cefotaxime, latamoxef) were separated and determined with good repeatability in about 10 min using simple free zone capillary electrophoresis. The electrophoresis buffer was 100 mM phosphate buffer of pH 8.0, and a fused-silica capillary of 25 microm I.D. and 47 cm length was adopted. The present method was successfully applied to monitor the degradation of carbapenems under various conditions (at various temperatures or in coexistence with other drugs prescribed in the case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).