Determination of chloramphenicol residue in poultry eggs by QuEChERS combined with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

ObjectiveTo develop a method for determination of chloramphenicol residue in poultry eggs （hen egg， duck egg， quail egg， and goose egg） using QuEChERS （Quick， Easy， Cheap， Effective， Rugged， Safe） protocols combined with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （HPLC-MS/MS）.MethodsThe chloramphenicol residue in egg samples was extracted with acetonitrile， followed by QuEChERS protocol with cleaning-up mixture （PSA∶C18=1∶1）， and then determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （HPLC-MS/MS） with internal standard quantification.ResultsThe linearity of chloramphenicol in poultry eggs was 0.020-2.0 μg/kg， with a correlation coefficient r>0.999. The limit of detection （LOD） of the method was 0.020 μg/kg， and the limit of quantitation （LOQ） was 0.050 μg/kg. Recoveries ranged from 80.8% to 119.0% at spiked level of 0.020， 0.10 and 0.50 µg/kg with the relative standard deviations （RSDs） of 4.09%-15.21% （n=6）. The developed method was validated using real-life samples as well as naturally incurred egg samples and showed good applicability in chloramphenicol residue analysis in poultry eggs.ConclusionThis proposed method is rapid， simple and sensitive， which could be effectively used for monitoring and determination of chloramphenicol residue in poultry eggs.

Keywords

• quechers
• high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry
• chloramphenicol
• poultry eggs