Detection and quantification of acidic drug residues in South African surface water using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method was optimized for derivation, separation, detection and quantification of salicylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid, nalidixic acid, ibuprofen, phenacetin, naproxen, ketoprofen, meclofenamic acid and diclofenac in surface water using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. For most of the acidic drugs, recovery was in the range 60e110% and the percent standard deviation was below 15% for the entire method, with limits of detection ranging from 0.041 to 1.614 mg L_1. The developed method was applied in the analysis of acidic drugs in Umgeni River system, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. All of the selected acidic drugs were detected and quantified, their concentration in Umgeni River system ranged from 0.0200 to 68.14 mg L_1.