CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Pharmaceutical products are recognized as a group of emerging environmental contaminants. The chronic exposure to these substances represents potential risks to the ecosystems and human health [1]. Therefore, their monitoring and removal is of utmost importance. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are classified as a class B drug by the European Council Decision 2002/657/EC and are frequently used in human and veterinary medicine for the treatment of different conditions, namely fever (antipyretic), pain (analgesic), and inflammation (anti-inflammatory) [2]. This group includes numerous substances such as dipyrone (DIP) and diclofenac (DC) that are commonly used for human health care and have been detected in the environment at concentrations ranging from nanograms to milligrams per liter [1,3]. In this work, a high performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of DIP and DC, targeting its application to monitor the efficiency of adsorption into magnetic nanoparticles as water treatment strategy.For the optimization of the chromatographic method, the composition of the mobile phase, the flow rate, and the injection volume were evaluated. Thus, it was possible to separate the two analytes by performing a gradient elution and using a reversed-phase C18 monolithic column (100 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.). A diode array detector, set at 254 and 279 nm, was employed for DIP and DC detection, respectively. Futhermore, the developed chromatographic method was validated for specificity, linearity, working range, accuracy, intra- and inter-day precision, detection and quantification limits, and stability in accordance with European Medicines Agency and International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines, showing its applicability to monitor the adsorption of DIP and DC onto nanoparticles.