First-order rate constants (k) were determined for cefepime degradation at 45, 55, 65, and 75 degrees C, pH 0.5 to 8.6, using an HPLC assay. Each pH-rate profile exhibited an inflection between pH 1 and 2. The pH-rate expression was k(pH) = kH1 f1(aH+) + kH2 f2(aH+) + ks + kOH(aOH-), where kH1 and kH2 are the catalytic constants (M(-1) h(-1)) for hydrogen ion activity (aH+), kOH is the catalytic constant for hydroxyl ion activity (aOH-), and ks is the first-order rate constant (h(-1)) for spontaneous degradation. The protonated (f1) and unprotonated (f2) fractions were calculated from the dissociation constant, Ka = (8.32x10(-6))e(5295)/RT where T was absolute temperature (T). Accelerated loss due to formate, acetate, phosphate, and borate buffer catalysis was quantitatively described with the catalytic constant, kGA (M(-1) h(-1)) for the acidic component, [GA], and kGB (M(-1) h(-1) for the basic component, [GB], of each buffer. The temperature dependency for each rate constant was defined with experimentally determined values for A and E and the Arrhenius expression, kT = Ae-E/RT, where kT represented kH1, kH2 , kS, kOH, kGA, or kGB. Degradation rate constants were calculated for all experimental pH, temperature, and buffer conditions by combining the contributions from pH and buffer effects to yield, k = k(pH) + kGA[GA] + kGB[GB]. The calculated k values had <10% error for 103 of the 106 experimentally determined values. Maximum stability was observed in the pH-independent region, 4 to 6. Degradation rate constants were predicted and experimentally verified for cefepime solutions stored at 30 degrees C, pH 4.6 and 5.6. These solutions maintained 90% of their initial concentration (T90) for approximately 2 days.

The influence of pH, temperature, and buffers on the hydrolysis of 10(-4) M ceftazidime was previously reported. The pH-rate profiles showed that maximum stability occurred in the pH-independent region from 4.5 to 6.5. In the present study, hydrolysis rates of 0.031, 0.14, 0.25, and 0.35 M ceftazidime were measured at 30 and 65 degrees C, pH 5.5-6.2. The data were consistent with beta-lactam hydrolysis and the rapid release of pyridine. The sum of the time-dependent concentrations of ceftazidime and pyridine provided mass balance. Simultaneous nonlinear regression for ceftazidime loss and pyridine formation provided similar rate constants (k) to those determined from first-order plots of ceftazidime loss. Although the loss of ceftazidime was first-order for each initial concentration, the k values increased as the initial concentrations increased. Plots of k versus initial concentration were linear with intercepts similar to the k values for 10(-4) M solutions, thus implying that ceftazidime catalyzed its own degradation. At the pH of these studies ceftazidime exists as a base. The ceftazidime catalytic constant, calculated from the slope of the plot, was similar to that found for the general-base catalyst, HPO4(2-). Therefore, it is feasible that ceftazidime also behaved as a intermolecular general-base catalyst. However, first-order plots exhibited excellent linearity even though the catalyst (ceftazidime) was consumed. This would require that the catalytic moieties on ceftazidime remained relatively constant throughout its hydrolysis. This hypothesis was shown to be consistent with literature reports which indicate that the general-base catalytic groups can remain relatively constant during cephalosporin hydrolysis.