PICO-LEVEL MONITORING OF AMPICILLIN BY USING A NOVEL CERIUM FLUORESCENCE PROBE

In this work, for the first time, a simple and sensitive fluorimetric method for low level determination of ampicillin, a beta-lactam antibiotic drug, using a cerium quenching fluorescence signal was developed. Among the lanthanide ions, cerium has a broad band spectrum in 300-400nm which is due to the 5d to 4f allowed transition. The employed methodology is based on the formation of a complex formed between Ce3+ and ampicillin molecule. The detection limit was 0.0115 ng mL(-1) (33 x 10(-12) mol L-1).