Luminescent and time-resolved determination of gemifloxacin mesylate in pharmaceutical formulations and spiked blood plasma samples using a lanthanide complex as a probe

Abstract

A novel luminescence-based analytical methodology was established employing a europium(III) complex with 3-allyl-2-hydroxybenzohydrazide (HAZ) as the coordinating ligand for the quantification of gemifloxacin mesylate (GMF) in pharmaceutical preparations and human plasma samples spiked with the compound. The stoichiometry of the europium complex with HAZ was determined via the Job plot and exhibited a metal-to-ligand ratio of 1 : 2. The analytical procedure relies on a rapid and significant enhancement of luminescence by the Eu(AZ)₂ complex when it interacts with gemifloxacin mesylate, which allowed for the rapid detection of 96 samples within approximately 2 minutes. The thermodynamic parameters of the complexation of GMF with Eu(AZ)₂ were evaluated and showed that the complexation of GMF was spontaneous with a negative ΔG. The binding constant K was 4.27 × 10⁵ L mol⁻¹ and DFT calculations supported GMF binding and the formation of Eu(AZ)₂–GMF without further ligand exchange. The calibration graph for the luminescence quantitation of GMF was linear over a wide concentration range of 0.11–16 μg mL⁻¹ (2.26 × 10⁻⁷ to 3.30 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹), with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 110 ng mL⁻¹ (230 nmol L⁻¹) and a detection limit (LOD) of 40 ng mL⁻¹ (82 nmol L⁻¹). The proposed method showed good accuracy with an average recovery of 99% with relative standard deviations of less than 5% in spiking experiments, even in complex pharmaceutical dosage forms such as tablets and in human blood plasma. Herein, the ability of the suppression of the luminescence background by using the long lag times of the lanthanide probe in a time-resolved detection scheme provided reliable and precise results, which suggests its potential for use in further real or patient samples.