The Department of Chemistry at Ibn Al-Haitham College of Education for Pure Sciences held the public defense of the PhD Dissertation entitled “Development of a High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Selected Beta-Lactam Antibiotics,” presented by researcher Maryam Mohsen Abdul Hussein under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ilham Nughamesh Mazaal.
The examination committee consisted of Prof. Dr. Khalid Waleed Saleh, Chair; Prof. Dr. Sumaya Mohammed Abbas, Member; Prof. Dr. Ali Khalil Mahmoud, Member; Prof. Dr. Mohammed Kadhim Hamoud, Member; Asst. Prof. Dr. Khalid Shanawa Ziyara, Member; and Prof. Dr. Ilham Nughamesh Mazaal, Member and Supervisor.
The thesis addresses a topic of significant importance to analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, and pharmaceutical quality assurance through the development of an analytical method based on High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for the separation and quantitative determination of a group of beta-lactam antibiotics comprising 15 pharmaceutical compounds, with application of the developed method to pharmaceutical preparations.
The primary objective of the study was to develop a chromatographic analytical method characterized by accuracy, sensitivity, and selectivity for the separation, identification, and quantitative determination of the investigated antibiotics. The developed approach is intended to strengthen laboratory capabilities for pharmaceutical compound analysis and support quality-control applications and the assessment of pharmaceutical preparations against relevant analytical requirements.
The significance of the research lies in its application of HPLC, one of the fundamental analytical techniques in chemical and pharmaceutical analysis, particularly for pharmaceutical compounds requiring reliable and robust analytical methodologies. The developed method also provides opportunities for further research aimed at extending its application to complex pharmaceutical formulations and investigating antibiotic compounds in different analytical matrices.
Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommended expanding the application of the developed method to complex multicomponent pharmaceutical mixtures, particularly formulations containing varying numbers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This would allow the analytical performance of the method to be further evaluated in more complex pharmaceutical systems.
The study also recommended conducting future investigations into the potential extension of the method to clinical and environmental analytical applications, including the monitoring of the investigated antibiotics in complex biological matrices such as human plasma and urine, as well as in environmental water samples.
The researcher further recommended applying the developed method in pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, and bioavailability studies, taking advantage of the high analytical capability of chromatographic techniques for accurate pharmaceutical compound determination. Such applications could support future clinical and pharmaceutical investigations.
Another recommendation was to employ the developed method in stability-indicating and forced-degradation studies of the investigated pharmaceutical compounds. This would facilitate the assessment of their behavior under different stress conditions and contribute to the development of comprehensive stability profiles for the pharmaceutical products under investigation.
The study additionally recommended extending the chromatographic platform to other pharmaceutical classes beyond beta-lactam antibiotics, thereby enhancing the versatility of the developed analytical approach and broadening its potential applications in pharmaceutical analysis and analytical chemistry.
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
The research directly contributes to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3): Good Health and Well-Being by supporting scientific research related to pharmaceutical quality, antibiotic analysis, and the development of reliable analytical methodologies that may contribute to quality-control and quality-assurance practices for pharmaceutical preparations.
The study also supports Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9): Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure through the development of an advanced analytical methodology and the expansion of potential HPLC applications in pharmaceutical, clinical, and environmental fields. This reflects the role of scientific innovation and advanced analytical technologies in research and development.
Furthermore, the research is relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12): Responsible Consumption and Production, particularly through its contribution to pharmaceutical quality-control processes and improved analytical capabilities for determining active pharmaceutical ingredients and verifying their characteristics, thereby supporting scientific practices associated with product quality and safety.
Overall, the thesis reflects a research-oriented approach toward developing scalable and advanced analytical solutions, highlighting the role of analytical chemistry in pharmaceutical research, pharmaceutical quality assurance, clinical investigations, and environmental analysis, while promoting the application of modern laboratory technologies to address scientific challenges related to health and industry.
