A reliable and environmental analytical method was developed for the direct determination of tetracycline using flow injection analysis (FIA) and batch procedures with spectrophotometric detection. The developed method is based on the reaction between a chromogenic reagent (vanadium (III) solution) and tetracycline at room temperature and in a neutral medium, resulting in the formation of an intense brown product that shows maximum absorption at 395 nm. The analytical conditions were improved by the application of experimental design. The proposed method was successfully used to analyze samples of commercial medications and verified throughout the concentration ranges of 25–250 and 3–25 µg/mL for both FIA and batch procedures, respectively. The limits for quantification and detection were 37 and 11 µg/mL for the FIA procedure, respectively, while were 5 and 1.5 µg/mL for the batch procedure, respectively. The commercial samples were also subjected to an HPLC analysis, and the outcomes were in high agreement with the developed method using suggested procedures. The proposed FIA and batch procedures can be immediately employed in the pharmaceutical sector for quality control of tetracycline during the production processes.
