Pharmacokinetics of cefixime

The serum protein binding of cefixime, was concentration-dependent. Below 30 mcg/mL, free-fractions (fu) of cefixime in dog serum were approximately 8%. As cefixime concentrations increased, concomitant increases in free-fraction were observed. At 328 mcg/mL almost half of the cefixime in serum was not bound. To examine the effect of this concentration-dependent binding on cefixime's pharmacokinetics, four dogs were administered 50 mg/kg of the carbon 14-labeled drug by the oral and intravenous routes. The absolute bioavailability of cefixime was 48.0 +/- 17% (mean +/- SD). Absorption of radioactivity was 51.9 +/- 18%. Cefixime's elimination was a function of its free-fraction in serum and reabsorption of filtered drug by the kidney