title: Determination of aztreonam in faeces of human volunteers: a comparison of reversed-phase high pressure liquid chromatography and bioassay.
abstract: Aztreonam was given orally to eight healthy volunteers in two different dosage regimens. To determine the concentration of aztreonam in faecal specimens a method was established using reversed-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Comparison of microbiological and HPLC assays showed a linear relationship between both techniques which, however, was not 1:1. The microbiological assay tended to yield higher aztreonam levels than the HPLC method. The HPLC assay for aztreonam proved to be five-fold less sensitive than the bioassay; however, since in most cases high aztreonam levels were found in the faeces of the test subjects, this was not a disadvantage. The HPLC assay was much easier to perform than the bioassay and yielded easily quantifiable results in a wider concentration range. In the stool specimens of one volunteer no aztreonam could be detected by either method, indicating inactivation and/or degradation of the compound.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001398:Aztreonam / Q000032:analysis*; D001681:Biological Assay; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005243:Feces / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D001398:Aztreonam