Simultaneous determination of 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients by dispersive solid-phase extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the simultaneous determination of the residues of 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients by quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) extraction and ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method (UPLC-MS/MS) was established. The sample was extracted with acetonitrile (containing 5% formic acid) and followed by stratifying with a salting-out agent. Clean-up of the extracts was processed by C18 and PSA, a modified QuEChERS procedure. The analytes were then separated on a Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column, and finally detected by tandem mass spectrometry in positive ESI mode. The linearity of all the 11 quinolones in the range from 1.0 to 100.0 microg/kg had correlation coefficients greater than 0.998. The limits of detection (LOD) of the method were from 1.8 to 3.1 microg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were from 6.0 to 10.3 microg/kg. The average recoveries of the 11 quinolones were in the range from 70.1% to 100.3%, with relative standard deviations from 2.42% to 10.88%. The established method is sensitive and of good recoveries. It can be applied as a rapid and reliable method for the determination of the 11 quinolones in hotpot ingredients.