Stress Degradation Studies of Tebipenem and a Validated Stability-Indicating LC Method

A inexpensive and rapid isocratic LC method has been developed for the quantitative determination of tebipenem—a new β-lactam antibiotic. Stress degradation studies were performed on tebipenem in acidic (0.2 N hydrochloric acid) and basic (0.02 N sodium hydroxide) solutions, in a solution with oxidizing agent (3 % hydrogen peroxide), and in the solid state, during thermolysis and photolysis. For a chromatographic separation of tebipenem and its degradation products, a C-18 stationary phase and 12 mM ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (96:4 v/v) were used. A quantitative determination of tebipenem was carried out by using a PDA detector at 298 nm, with a flow rate of 1.2 mL min(−1). The linear regression analysis for the calibration plots showed a good linear relationship (r = 0.999) in the concentration range 0.041–0.240 mg mL(−1). The method demonstrated good precision (1.14–1.96 % RSD) and recovery (99.60–101.90 %). The limits of detection and quantitation were 9.69 and 29.36 μg mL(−1), respectively. The analysis of tebipenem reactivity was supported by quantum chemical calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The analysis of the electron density of the HOMO and LUMO of tebipenem suggested the possibility of electron transport in the molecule during the degradation of bi-cyclic 4:5 fused penem rings.