A REPRODUCIBLE, SIMPLE AND SENSITIVE HPLC ASSAY FOR DETERMINATION OF OFLOXACIN IN PLASMA AND LUNG-TISSUE - APPLICATION IN PHARMACOKINETIC STUDIES

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorometric detection was developed for the analysis of ofloxacin in plasma and lung tissue. The detection was performed at 280 nm for excitation and 500 nm for emission. The procedure involves the addition of an internal standard followed by treatment of the samples with acetonitrile and dichloromethane. The proposed technique is reproducible, selective, reliable and sensitive. Linear detector response was observed for the calibration curve standards in the range of 0.1-5 mu g ml(-1) for plasma and 0.025-2.5 mu g g(-1) for lung tissue. The limit of quantitation is 5 ng ml(-1) or 5 ng g(-1). The accuracy of the method is good; that is, the relative error is <10%. This method was applied to the pharmacokinetic study of ofloxacin in 24 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.