Determination of Tetracycline in Bovine and Breast Milk Using a Graphite–Polyurethane Composite Electrode

Abstract

A bare graphite–polyurethane composite electrode (60% graphite, m/m) was used for the determination of tetracycline in bovine and breast milk. Limits of detection as low as 2.6 µmol L−1 were obtained in pH 2.3 phosphate buffer using optimized differential pulse voltammetric parameters at the graphite–polyurethane composite electrode. The milk treatment consisted of acidification with 80% trichloroacetic acid, centrifugation to remove solid phase from milk, the isolation of the antibiotic from the whey using solid-phase extraction, and direct analysis in pH 2.3 phosphate buffer. Recoveries between 83 and 99% and 97% were obtained for tetracycline fortified in bovine and breast milk, suggesting that this approach is a promising screening procedure.