Fluconazole is an azole anti-fungal medication that is used to treat infections caused by fungus, which can invade any part of the body including the mouth, throat, esophagus, lungs, bladder, genital area, and the blood. Fluconazole is also used to prevent fungal infection in people who have a weak immune system caused by cancer treatment, bone marrow transplant, or diseases such as AIDS. The mechanism of action can be described as fungistatic, the growth and replication of fungi is inhibited by Fluconazole rather than directly attacked. This process is achieved by inhibiting the fungal cytochrome P450 dependent enzyme, lanosterol 14-a-demethylase, which is important in the production of fungal membranes, allowing the immune system ample opportunity to target and degrade the pathogen. Fluconazole is on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) list of essential medicines, which serves as a model of the safest and most effective medications needed by a health system.
This application brief describes the use of an Epic C18 column coupled with the LC 300 liquid chromatography system and SimplicityChrom chromatography data system (CDS) for the analysis of Fluconazole in accordance with the official USP monograph.