Stability studies with tigecycline in bacterial growth medium and impact of stabilizing agents

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the degradation of tigecycline in Mueller Hinton broth (ca-MHB), as knowledge about bacterial susceptibility is key for therapeutic decisions. METHODS: Antioxidative stabilizers were evaluated on tigecycline stability in a quantitative chromatography assay and tigecycline induced kill against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213) was determined in time kill studies. RESULTS: Ascorbic acid caused rapid degradation of tigecycline and resulted in loss of antibacterial activity. Tigecycline was stabilized in aged broth by 2% pyruvate and bacterial growth, and tigecycline killing was similar to fresh broth without supplementation, but independent of age. CONCLUSION: Our results underline the importance of using freshly prepared ca-MHB or the need for stabilizers for tigecycline susceptibility testing while using aged ca-MHB. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10096-020-03970-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.