Sample preparation followed by HPLC under harmless 100% aqueous conditions for determination of oxytetracycline in milk and eggs.

A simple and hazardous chemical-free method for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of oxytetracycline (OTC) residues in milk and eggs has been developed. Sample preparation consists in homogenization with an aqueous solution by means of a handheld ultrasonic homogenizer followed by centrifugal ultrafiltration. HPLC is performed with an isocratic aqueous mobile phase and a photodiode array detector. Average recoveries of OTC (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 microg mL(-1) for milk; 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 microg mL(-1) for eggs) were > or =84% with relative standard deviations of < or =2.3%. The total time required for the analysis of one sample and LOQs were <30 min and <0.1 microg mL(-1), respectively. In all the processes, no organic solvents or hazardous reagents were used.