A Simple UPLC Method for Determination of Imipenem in Rat Plasma and Its Application in Pharmacokinetic Study

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to develop a simple and sensitive UPLC method to quantify imipenem in plasma. METHODS The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Dikma Diamonsil C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1M Na₂HPO₄ (85%H₃PO₄ adjust to pH 7.0)-methonal (45∶55) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min^-1. The temperature of column was 35 ℃. UV wavelength mode was used, with imipenem monitored at 295 nm. RESULTS The calibration was linear in the range of 0.5-100 μg·mL^-1 for imipenem. Inter- and intra-day precision were less than 10% for imipenem, respectively. The recovery was 80.5％-81.2％. The pharmacokinetic parameters were: Cmax (75.3±6.2)μg·mL^-1; t_1/2 (6.72±1.58)h; AUC_0-t (694.1±28.3)h·μg·mL^-1; AUC_0-∞(746.2±32.9)h·μg·mL^-1. CONCLUSION This simple, sensitive, accurate and cost-effective method can be used in routine clinical practice to monitor imipenem concentrations in plasma for patients.