Fluorimetric determination of some antibiotics in raw material and dosage forms through ternary complex formation with terbium (Tb(3+))

A highly sensitive and specific fluorimetric method was developed for the determination of cefazolin sodium I, cefoperazone sodium II, ceftriaxone sodium III, and cefixime IV. The proposed method involves the formation of ternary complex with Tb³⁺ in the presence of Tris buffer. The quenching of the terbium fluorescence due to the complex formation was quantitative for the four studied drugs. The effect of pH, concentration of Tris buffer and terbium were studied. The formation of the complex was highly dependent on the pH. The optimum pH was found to be pH 8 for cefazolin sodium I, ceftriaxone sodium III, cefixime IV and pH 10 for cefoperazone sodium II. The optimum concentration for Tb³⁺ was found 1 ml of 10⁻⁴ M solution and for Tris buffer 1 ml of the prepared solution. Under the described conditions, the proposed method was applicable over the concentration range 8.79×10⁻⁶–7.91×10⁻⁵, 9.7×10⁻⁶–4.49×10⁻5, 6.10×10⁻⁶–2.50×10⁻⁵, and 4.92×10⁻⁶–2.95×10⁻⁵ mol with mean percentage accuracy of 99.79±0.24, 98.97±1.25, 100.05±0.79, and 100.15±0.54 for I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The proposed method was applied successfully for the determination of studied drugs in bulk powder and in pharmaceutical formulations. The results obtained by applying the described method were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained by applying the official method. The proposed method was used as stability indicating method for the determination of the studied drugs in the presence of their degradation products.