Liquid chromatographic determination of amphotericin B in different pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Amphotericin B (AmB) is one of the most potent antifungal agents and the drug of choice in the treatment of serious fungal infections. A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed to determine AmB in pharmaceutical formulations for injection, tissue culture, cream, and lotion. μBondapak C18 reversed-phase column and a simple mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water-acetic acid (40 + 54 + 6, v/v) was used. The flow rate was 1.8 mL/min and the effluent was monitored at 405 nm. The developed LC method uses piroxicam as an internal standard and has a limit of detection of 10 ng/mL, a limit of quantitation of 30 ng/mL, and the assay is linear from 0.01 to 100 μg/mL. AmB and piroxicam elute with retention times of 12.4 and 4.0 min, respectively, and the resolution between AmB and piroxicam was 10.6. In comparison with the official United States Pharmacopeia microbial assay for AmB, this LC method is more rapid, selective, sensitive, and offers positive identification.