Determination of six chemotherapeutic agents in municipal wastewater using online solid-phase extraction coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Due to the increased consumption of chemotherapeutic agents, their high toxicity, carcinogenicity, their occurrence in the aquatic environment must be properly evaluated. An analytical method based on online solid-phase extraction coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated. A 1mL injection volume was used to quantify six of the most widely used cytotoxic drugs (cyclophosphamide, gemcitabine, ifosfamide, methotrexate, irinotecan and epirubicin) in municipal wastewater. The method was validated using standard additions. The validation results in wastewater influent had coefficients of determination (R2) between 0.983 and 0.998 and intra-day precision ranging from 7 to 13% (expressed as relative standard deviation %RSD), and from 9 to 23% for inter-day precision. Limits of detection ranged from 4 to 20ngL−1 while recovery values were greater than 70% except for gemcitabine, which is the most hydrophilic compound in the selected group and had a recovery of 47%. Matrix effects were interpreted by signal suppression and ranged from 55 to 118% with cyclophosphamide having the highest value. Two of the target anticancer drugs (cyclophosphamide and methotrexate) were detected and quantified in wastewater (effluent and influent) and ranged from 13 to 60ngL−1. The proposed method thus allows proper monitoring of potential environmental releases of chemotherapy agents. •We analyzed six chemotherapy agents in wastewaters.•We used 1ml injections and an 11min SPE-LC-MS/MS.•Limits of detection ranged from 4 to 20ngL−1.•Cyclophosphamide and methotrexate were found in wastewater at 17–60ngL−1.