Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of Ciprofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin Metabolites in Body Fluids

Abstract
An isocratic HPLC assay procedure for analysis of ciprofloxacin and three metabolites was developed. The procedure requires only dilution of bile, saliva, and urine samples prior to reverse-phase chromatography on a polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PSDVB) column; analysis of serum samples requires a cleanup step on a PSDVB cartridge prior to chromatography. The dependence of chromatographic efficiency on flow rate and temperature was investigated and the accuracy, precision, selectivity, and sensitivity of the procedure were evaluated. The developed procedure was also compared to a modified version of a published ciprofloxacin procedure that requires an octadecyl-silane (ODS) column for chromatographic separation. Similar efficiency, precision, and accuracy were observed with both procedures and both were used for analysis of clinical samples. However, the procedures were used for different purposes. The PSDVB procedure, because of more favorable column selectivity, was used to assay ciprofloxacin and its metabolites in bile, urine and saliva samples. The ODS procedure, because of a simpler serum preparation step, was used t o assay ciprofloxacin in serum samples.