Pharmaceutical Analysis for Environmental Samples: Individual and Simultaneous Determination of Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin and Norfloxacin Using an HPLC with Fluorescence and UV Detection with a Wetland Soil Matrix

Abstract

Two HPLC methods were developed for individual and simultaneous determination of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin for use in laboratory experiments producing large numbers of samples (100 s to 1000 s). Individual compound detection produced retention times between 1.5 and 2 min and simultaneous detection between 6.5 to 8 min. The methods are compatible with complex geomatrices, e.g. a wetland soil. These methods provide 1) detection limits in the low parts per-billion range; 2) decrease in retention times of 5–10 times for single compounds, and up to 2 times for simultaneous detection over published methods; and 3) require no solid phase extraction.