Flucloxacillin: A Review of Characteristics, Properties and Analytical Methods

Abstract

Bacterial resistance is a growing and worrying factor. The high reproducibility of these resistant microorganisms tends to influence the development of new drugs and research related to product quality control. Among the existing antimicrobials, flucloxacillin (FLU) was designed for oral and injectable administration with bactericidal activity. FLU sodium is the form used in pharmaceutical formulations. It is an antimicrobial resistant against penicillinase, an enzyme responsible for cleaving the beta-lactam ring of penicilins, which leads to inactivity of the drug. Qualitative and quantitative analyzes are essential to ensure quality of pharmaceuticals and health of the population. It is important that quality control is effective and appropriate, only then we can win the battle against microbial resistance. In this work, we want to highlight tthe characteristics of FLU as an important antibiotic and methods for the determination of FLU in pharmaceutical products and biological matrices. Among the analytical methods described in the literature for the determination of FLU, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stands out. Anyway, this method uses toxic solvents (e.g. acetonitrile) long columns, which provide long runs, as well as produces large amounts of waste. Currently, the priority changed to develop ecologically correct, conscious and sustainable methods. This new view on analytical methods should be applied to FLU analyzes and used to develop and improve existing methods.