Determination of Amikacin Isomers by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for quantitative monitoring of amikacin isomers is described. Four isomers, BB-K8, BB-K29, BB-K6 and BB-K11 were applied to a silica gel column. While adsorbed, the isomers were derivatized with o-phthalaldehyde and the derivatized products eluted with ethanol. A decrease in the fluorescence of the derivatized products with time was observed. Heating at 50°C for 5 min produced products with stable fluorescence for at least three hours. Using the fluorescent properties of the amikacin derivative for detection, the four isomers of amikacin were separated by reverse phase (HPLC). A linear relationship from 1 to 10 μg/mL was obtained for all four isomers.