Development of an analytical system for the simultaneous determination of anabolic macrocyclic lactones in aquatic environmental samples.

An analytical procedure that enables routine analysis for trace determination of six anabolic macrocyclic lactones (zearalenone, alpha- and beta-zearalenol, zearalanone, zeranol, and taleranol) in sewage treatment plant (STP) samples has been developed. The method uses solid-phase extraction, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line tandem mass spectrometry using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (LC/APCI-MS/MS). The extraction of these compounds from filtered water samples was performed off-line with C(18) solid-phase cartridges. The detection was achieved by isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an heated nebulizer (HN) APCI interface operating in negative ion mode. Mean recovery of the analytes in STP effluent samples generally exceeded 81%. This method was used to determine the occurrence of target analytes in the aquatic environment. In the selected STP effluent samples, zearalenone and alpha-zearalenol were detected in the ng/L range.