Simultaneous determination of a selected group of cytostatic drugs in water using high-performance liquid chromatography-triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry.
In recent years, an increasing concern has risen about the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment. Despite their toxicity, increasing consumption and release into the municipal sewage, only a few studies have been focused on cytostatic drugs, mainly due to the lack of methods for their simultaneous analysis. In this work, a method, based on solid-phase extraction prior to high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry determination, was optimized and validated for the simultaneous determination of some (14) of the most widely used cytostatic drugs in river water, influent and effluent wastewater. Process efficiency was in the range between 41 and 99% in real samples, except for cytarabine (24%), docetaxel (17%) and methotrexate (30%), due to suppression effects; precision values were <11%, except for gemcitabine (up to 19%); and detection limits were in the range between 0.1 and 38 ng/L. Cytarabine, doxorubicin, etoposide, gemcitabine, iphosphamide and vinorelbine were found at concentration levels up to 14 ng/L in influent and effluent wastewater, showing an insignificant decrease during sewage treatment; cytarabine and gemcitabine were found in effluent wastewater and were also detected in river water associated with effluent discharges.
Department of Analytical Chemistry, High Polytechnic School, University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
Julia
J
Martín
Dolores
D
Camacho-Muñoz
Juan L
JL
Santos
Irene
I
Aparicio
Esteban
E
Alonso
D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D054697:Cytostatic Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D054697:Cytostatic Agents; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical