A novel synchronous fluorescence spectrometry combined with fluorescence sensitization for the highly sensitive and simultaneous detection of enoxacin, ofloxacin and tetracycline hydrochloride residues in wastewater

The synergistic effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Mg 2+ could significantly enhance the fluorescence intensity of enoxacin (ENO) at λ ex /λ em  = 269.2 nm/385.6 nm, ofloxacin (OFL) at λ ex /λ em  = 290.8 nm/466.2 nm and tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) at λ ex /λ em  = 372.6 nm/514.8 nm. Moreover, when the wavelength difference (Δλ) was chosen 135 nm, the synchronous fluorescence spectra of the three antibiotic complexes could be well separated and the interference of the samples matrix were eliminated primely. Therefore, only one synchronous fluorescence scan was needed to simultaneously determine the three antibiotics. Based on these facts, a synchronous fluorescence spectrometry combining fluorescence sensitization for highly sensitive and selective determination of ENO, OFL and TCH residues in wastewater was developed for the first time. The experimental results showed that the concentrations of ENO, OFL and TCH in the range of 0.5–550 ng mL −1 , 1–1500 ng mL −1 and 10–5500 ng mL −1 showed a good linear relationship with fluorescence intensity. The limits of detection were 0.0599 ng mL −1 , 0.115 ng mL −1 and 0.151 ng mL −1 , respectively. The recoveries of the actual sample were 87.50%–99.99 %, 93.00%–98.50 % and 85.70%–98.42 %, respectively. Overall, the novel synchronous fluorescence spectrometry established in the experiment has the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, fast detection speed and high accuracy. It has been successfully applied to the detection of residual amounts of ENO, OFL and TCH in wastewater with satisfactory results.