Development of an analytical method to comply with the principles of green chemistry for determination of Vancomycin and Meropenem in human plasma by HPLC-PAD

Abstract

Sepsis is the major cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring dialysis support in patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and occur in addition to the significant impact on morbidity, represents an independent risk factor for death. Early intervention is essential for reducing mortality. Infection control in the intensive care environment by hospital pathogens often includes the use of Vancomycin and Meropenem. It stands out that profound changes occur in the pharmacokinetics of antimicrobials prescribed to critical patients and that different dialytic methods may partially or totally remove them since the pharmacokinetics of these agents is unpredictable under these clinical conditions. One of the most widely used analytical techniques for the determination of these drugs in human plasma is HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography). However, large quantities of toxic solvents are used by this separation technique, with an estimated 34 million liters of contaminated effluent per year worldwide. It is in this context that there is a need to apply practices with ethical principles (in other words, with respect to the environment), in which the Green Chemistry stands out. The application of the concepts of Green Chemistry in analytical techniques of separation is a great challenge, mainly as regards the substitution of solvents such as acetonitrile (MeCN) and methanol (MeOH), the most used in HPLC coupled to a Photodiode Array Detector (PAD) as mobile phase due to its characteristics such as: selectivity, low viscosity and low absorption in the UV region. Therefore, this project aims to develop an analysis methodology, by HPLC-PAD, to determine Vancomycin and Meropenem in human plasma, aiming at reducing or eliminating the production of toxic residues by applying the Green Chemistry concepts.