Comparison of highperformance liquid chromatography and ultravioletvisible spectrophotometry to determine the best method to assess Levofloxacin released from mesoporous silica microspheres/nanohydroxyapatite composite scaffolds

An assessment of Levofloxacin by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or ultravioletvisible spectrophotometry (UVVis) and its pharmacokinetics in serum or plasma was made in a previous study by the present authors. Levofloxacinloaded mesoporous silica microspheres/nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) composite scaffolds comprise a novel synthetic composite scaffold that may be utilized as a drugdelivery system for clinical usage. However, few studies have been published concerning a comparison of HPLC with UVVis, which is the preferred method for determination of Levofloxacin. In the present study, an HPLC method was first established, and subsequently a comparison of HPLC with the UVVis method was performed. The standard curve was established, and recovery rate from simulated body fluid was calculated. The linear concentration range for Levofloxacin was 0.05300 µg/ml. The regression equation for HPLC was y=0.033x+0.010, with R2=0.9991, whereas that for UVVis was y=0.065x+0.017, with R2=0.9999. The recovery rates of low, medium and high (5, 25 and 50 µg/ml) concentrations of Levofloxacin determined by HPLC were 96.37±0.50, 110.96±0.23 and 104.79±0.06%, respectively, whereas those for low, medium and high concentrations according to UVVis were 96.00±2.00, 99.50±0.00 and 98.67±0.06%, respectively. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that it is not accurate to measure the concentration of drugs loaded on the biodegradable composite composites by UVVis. HPLC is the preferred method to evaluate sustained release characteristics of Levofloxacin released from mesoporous silica microspheres/nHA composite scaffolds. The present study also provides guidance on which methods should be selected for investigating the sustained release properties of drugs in tissue engineering. The accurate determination of drug concentration in the drug delivery system provides guidance for the treatment of infectious diseases.