Using two green and sensitive spectrofluorimetric methods, we quantified two cephalosporins, cefepime (CFM) and cefazolin (CFZ), as raw and pharmaceutical formulations. The first method is based on the reaction between CFM and fluorescamine (borate buffer, pH 8), which yields a highly fluorescent product. After excitation at 384 nm, the fluorescent product emits light at 484 nm. At concentrations from 12 to 120 ng/mL, the relative fluorescence intensity/concentration curve was linear with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 2.46 ng/mL. The second method relied on measuring the CFZ quenching action on acriflavine fluorescence through formation of an ion-associate complex using a Britton–Robinson buffer at pH 8. We measured acriflavine fluorescence at 505 nm after excitation at 265 nm. The fluorescence intensity decrease was CFZ-concentration dependent. Using this method, we quantified CFZ concentrations ranging from 1to 10 µg/mL with an LOQ of 0.48 µg/mL. We studied and optimized the factors influencing reaction product formation. Moreover, we adapted our methods to the investigation of the mentioned drugs as raw and pharmaceutical formulations with great results. We statistically validated our methods according to ICH guidelines. Our results were consistent with those obtained with the official HPLC methods.

This work was performed in our laboratory in analytical pharmaceutical chemistry department and then has been processed using excel sheets and subsequent calculations to prove that the proposed methods are valid.

The attached two excel files represent calibration of both studied drugs in pure form and precision data (intra-day and inter-day).

There are three factors or variables studied and optimized (pH, volume of reagent and reaction time and stability).

There are no abbreviations.