A highly selective and sensitive spectrofluorometric method for quantification of meropenem in its dosage form and fresh human plasma

The present study aims to develop and validate a robust, fast, simple, and sensitive spectrofluorimetric approach for the estimation of meropenem (MRP) in its dosage form and fresh human plasma. The developed method is mainly depending on a nucleophilic substitution reaction of MRP with 4-Nitro-7-chlorobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) in alkaline media (pH 9.0), which results in a strongly fluorescent yellow adduct measured at 536 nm when excited at 471 nm. The variables that influence the stability and development of reaction product were thoroughly investigated and optimized. Calibration curve is rectilinear within the range of 25-650 ng mL-1 of MRP with a linear correlation coefficient (r =0.9981). Quantification and detection limits were estimated to be 9.55 ng mL-1 and 3.15 ng mL-1 respectively. The presented approach was successfully used to the analysis of commercial meropenem vials and meropenem-containing fresh human plasma with good results.