Determination of antibiotics of the tetracycline group in water by high-performance liquid chromatography on a diode matrix detector with preliminary concentration by solid-phase extraction

Introduction. Antibiotic contamination of the environment is a serious environmental threat that poses a hazard to human health. To monitor the content of tetracycline antibiotics in environmental objects and control technological processes aimed at their disposal, accessible analytical methods are needed. Purpose of the study. Development of a method for determining antibiotics of the tetracycline group in water using a diode array detector with preliminary solid-phase concentration. Material and methods. The objects of the study were model solutions of minocycline, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, demeclocycline, metacycline, and doxycycline in deionized, tap, natural, and treated wastewater. For solid-phase extraction, Diapak P and Diapak PG cartridges were used. SPE was performed using a VacMaster-10 manifold (Biotage). Chromatographic separation was carried out on Diasphere C10CN and Kromasil Eternity 250 × 4.6 mm 5 µm columns on an Agilent 1100 liquid chromatograph (Agilent Technology). Results. Optimal conditions for the chromatographic separation of minocycline, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, demeclocycline, metacycline, and doxycycline were selected: isocratic mode, wavelength of 350 nm, mobile phase – acetonitrile: aqueous solution of phosphoric acid (pH = 3.0). The analysis time on Diasphere C10CN and Kromasil Eternity columns was 12 and 14 minutes, respectively. The reliability of the linear approximation in both cases was more than 0.99, however, the slopes on the Kromasil Eternity column were 1.35 –1.65 times higher than on Diasphere C10CN. The degree of extraction of tetracyclines from deionized water on Diapak P and Diapak PG cartridges was 90–95%, from tap water 61–89%, from purified waste water: 51–87%. Limitations. The method is not suitable for water bodies with tetracycline contents less than 2 µg/dm3. Conclusion. An HPLC method has been developed for the determination of minocycline, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, demeclocycline, metacycline, and doxycycline in water with preliminary SPE concentration on Diapak P and Diapak PG cartridges. The lower limit of determination for the sorption of target compounds from 0,1 dm3 of sample was 2 μg/dm3.