High-pressure liquid chromatography analysis and single-dose disposition of tobramycin in human volunteers

A sensitive and specific fluorometric high-pressure liquid chromatography technique was developed to measure both tobramycin and an internal standard (gentamicin C₂). The assay utilizes direct extraction of the o-phthalaldehyde derivatives from serum and urine. Coefficients of variation were 7.9% (serum) and 6.0% (urine) at a tobramycin concentration of 1.0 μg/ml. The lower limit of assay sensitivity was 0.2 μg/ml. Results obtained from high-pressure liquid chromatography were in excellent agreement with those from radioimmunoassay for both serum (r = 0.97) and urine (r = 0.91). No other aminoglycoside antibiotics and no other antibiotics that were tested caused interfering peaks. Tobramycin (1 mg/kg intravenous bolus) was administered to three healthy volunteers. Tobramycin concentrations were detectable for 10 h in serum and for 240 h in urine after a 1 mg/kg intravenous dose. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic model was required to describe the tobramycin disposition. Urinary recovery of tobramycin over a 10-day period accounted for 95.8, 94.3, and 83.1% of the administered dose. High pressure liquid chromatography methodology is insufficiently sensitive to determine single-dose, two-compartment tobramycin pharmacokinetics from urinary excretion data, thus verifying the prolonged excretion of tobramycin after a single dose. The analytical methodology and pharmacokinetic techniques described may be useful in studying other aminoglycosides.