Trace enrichment of (fluoro)quinolone antibiotics in surface waters by solid-phase extraction and their determination by liquid chromatography–ultraviolet detection

A new and simple analytical methodology for the simultaneous analysis of acidic and zwitterionic (fluoro)quinolones in surface waters at trace concentration level is presented. The method is based on the preconcentration of these analytes by a solid-phase extraction procedure and their subsequent quantification by liquid chromatography using ultraviolet detection. The breakthrough volumes of the selected (fluoro)quinolones in four different sorbents—C18, styrenedivinylbenzene (SDB), C18-cation-exchange and SDB-cation-exchange—have been evaluated and varied between 25 and 150 ml depending on the antibiotic and the sorbent used. An exhaustive study of the influence of sample pH on the preconcentration step has been carried out in order to find a suitable procedure for extraction of acidic and zwitterionic FQs in one single step. Under optimum conditions, it was possible to percolate up to 250 ml of water solution onto both C18 and SDB-cation-exchange cartridges with quantitative recoveries for all the analytes tested. However, matrix components of the surface water samples analysed negatively affected the recoveries of the analytes in the SDB-cation-exchange cartridge and thus, C18 cartridges were finally selected for the analysis of the (fluoro)quinolones in lake and river water. The limits of detection achieved with this procedure varied between 8 and 20 ng l−1 proving its suitability for the determination of the (fluoro)quinolones in water samples at a realistic environmental concentration level.