A 100% Water Mobile Phase HPLC-PDA Analysis of Tetracycline Antibiotics

Aims: To develop a reserved-phase HPLC method for detecting oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), and chlortetracycline (CTC) using a 100% water mobile phase.

Study Design: HPLC conditions.

Place and Duration of Study: Author’s Lab., Osaka City University, Japan, between September and November 2012.

Methodology: Chromatographic separations were performed an Inertsil® WP300 C4 (100×4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a water mobile phase and a photodiode-array detector.

Results: The run time was < 5.5 min. The method shows high stability, significant linearity and satisfactory sensitivity. The detection limits were established in the range 0.01 – 0.059 μg/mL.

Conclusion: An organic solvent/reagent-free HPLC method for the simultaneous detection of OTC, TC, and CTC was developed and may be further applied to the quantification in foods.