Dual enantioselective LC–MS/MS method to analyse chiral drugs in surface water: Monitoring in Douro River estuary

Publication date: 5 June 2019Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, Volume 170Author(s): Maria Miguel Coelho, Ana Rita Lado Ribeiro, João C.G. Sousa, Cláudia Ribeiro, Carla Fernandes, Adrián M.T. Silva, Maria Elizabeth TiritanAbstractThis work presents the development of an enantioselective method to quantify chiral drugs (CDs) in surface water and its application in the Douro River estuary monitoring. Different classes of CDs were targeted, including 23 compounds, namely beta-blockers, antidepressants, one beta2-adrenergic agonist, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulants, and some illicit drugs as cocaine (COC) and its metabolites, and amphetamines. The analytical method was based on an innovative application of solid phase extraction (SPE), followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) using a triple quadrupole analyzer. The ground-breaking approach of SPE consists in the use of Oasis® MCX cartridges to pre-concentrate 500 mL of water samples, allowing the simultaneous extraction of acidic, basic and neutral analytes, rather than the conventional recovery of basic compounds only. Two chiral columns were used for enantiomeric separation in reverse elution mode, a Chirobiotic™V and a Pirkle type Whelk-O®1, for basic and acidic compounds, respectively. The method validation demonstrated good linearity (r2 > 0.99), selectivity and sensitivity, with method detection limits between 0.01 and 2.66 ng L−1 and m...
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research