Analysis of antibiotics in biological samples by capillary electrophoresis

Antibiotics are widely used to treat and prevent diseases in humans and animals. It is therefore important to monitor their residues in biological samples. This is a review of some of the most important antibiotic groups used in medicine: beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins); aminoglycosides; quinolones; and, tetracyclines. We describe how capillary electrophoresis (CE) is used to analyze these antibiotics in biological samples. We also discuss how the biological samples are pre-treated before they are analyzed and describe several ways in which the sensitivity of CE systems can be improved. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.