Multivariate curve resolution-assisted determination of pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine by HPLC-DAD in water samples.

In the present study, a simple strategy based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with a cation exchange sorbent (Finisterre SCX) followed by fast high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection coupled with chemometrics tools has been proposed for the determination of methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine in ground water and river water. At first, the HPLC and SPE conditions were optimized and the analytical performance of the method was determined. In the case of ground water, determination of analytes was successfully performed through univariate calibration curves. For river water sample, multivariate curve resolution and alternating least squares was implemented and the second-order advantage was achieved in samples containing uncalibrated interferences and uncorrected background signals. The calibration curves showed good linearity (r(2) > 0.994).The limits of detection for pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine were 0.06 and 0.08 μg/L and the average recovery values were 104.7 and 102.3% in river water, respectively.