Development and validation of a solid-phase extraction method coupled with LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of 16 antibiotic residues in duck meat

Abstract

The present study was carried out to determine 16 antibiotics belonging to seven different groups (tetracyclines, sulfonamides, penicillins, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, lincosamides and trimethoprims) in duck meat. A solid-phase extraction method based on Oasis HLB cartridges coupled with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was developed. Solutions of 0.1 m ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt and 2% trifluoroacetic acid were used for the preliminary extraction of the target antibiotics from duck meat and n-hexane was used for purification prior to solid-phase extraction. Mobile phases composed of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in distilled water (solvent A) and 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in methanol (solvent B), combined with a reversed-phase C₁₈ analytical column, provided the optimal separation and signal intensity. The linearity of the method was assessed using six concentrations (5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 μg/kg), and the recoveries, which were calculated at three spiking concentrations (5, 10 and 20 μg/kg), were in the range 69.8-103.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ≤ 6.9% for the 16 tested antibiotics. Matrix effects ranging from -47.2 to -13.5% were observed for all the analytes, and the limits of quantitation (LOQ), which ranged from 4.93 to 26.21 μg/kg, were much lower than the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by various regulatory authorities. Ten samples from a market were tested, and none of the target analytes were detected. Thus, a simple and versatile protocol has been developed to detect and quantify 16 antibiotics in duck meat samples.

Keywords: LC-MS/MS; analysis; antibiotics; duck meat; residues; solid-phase extraction.