Qing Chen,
Xiao-Dong Pan*,
Bai-Fen Huang,
Jian-Long Han and
Biao Zhou
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Physical-Chemistry and Toxicity, Room No. 401, Bin-Sheng Road No. 3399, Binjiang District, Hangzhou, 310051, China. E-mail: zjupanxiaodong@hotmail.com; Fax: +86 571 87115261; Tel: +86 571 87115274
First published on 6th September 2019
The quantification capability of high resolution mass spectrometry is of great interest to analysts. We described a method for analysis of multi-class antibiotics in pork meat by UPLC-quadrupole (Q)-Orbitrap-MS. The QuEChERS approach with a clean-up step using a sorbent of primary-secondary amine (PSA) and C18 was adopted for sample preparation, and 37 antibiotics including beta-lactams, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones and macrolides were analyzed. The Q-Orbitrap method showed high sensitivity with limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 0.8 μg kg−1 to 2.9 μg kg−1. The method was further validated by intra and inter-day tests with fortified samples. Recovery (85–105.6%) and precision values (RSDs < 15%) for all analytes were obtained. The result indicates that UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS coupled with QuEChERS preparation can serve as a routine method for multi-class antibiotic analysis in pork meat.
The abuse of antibiotics has two major adverse impacts on human, bacterial resistance and toxicological effects resulting from their residues. A recent study based on research in East China finds evidence that exposure to different antibiotics is a possible cause for obesity in children.4 From the legal perspective, European Community Regulation (EU) no 470/2009 established antibiotic maximum residue limits (MRLs) in foodstuff of animal origin, considering toxicological risks and pharmacological effects of residues.5 Chinese Ministry of Agriculture also published announcement (no. 235) for MRLs. Furthermore, the Chinese government has recently launched a pilot program that aims to eliminate the use of antibiotics in livestock feed by 2020.
Besides establishing regulation for antibiotic addition, comprehensive surveillance of targeted antibiotics in pork muscle is necessary. Accordingly, methods for antibiotics determination are required with satisfactory qualitative and quantitative results at trace level in muscle matrix. Recently, a growing number of reports have focused on separation and detection of antibiotics with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), which have been widely applied in quantitative target analysis.6–8 Some new kinds of mass spectrometry have also been used for screening and confirmation of drug residues, such as time-of-flight (TOF), Orbitrap, and hybrid mass spectrometer of quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF) or Q-Orbitrap.9–15 Comparing to triple-quadrupole MS, these MS with high resolution has more precise criteria for mass accuracy and mass resolution.
In our previous work,9 Orbitrap MS technology was proven to be selective and sensitive for the qualitative analysis of some β-lactams in chicken muscle. The limits of detection (LOD) of β-lactam (methicillin) can reach 0.01 μg kg−1. However, we usually cannot suspect certain kind of antibiotic residue in routine test. Accordingly, methods for multi-class antibiotics determination are of great interests for the analysts.
This paper aims to develop a multi-residue analysis method using LC-quadrupole-Orbitrap and QuEChERS pre-treatment. Thirty-seven antibiotics including beta-lactams, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones and macrolides were determined in pork meat. Modified QuEChERS-based preparation was chosen as a best compromise in terms of analytes recoveries and quantification limits achieved. Stable-isotope-labeled antibiotics were adopted as internal standards to compensate the loss of sample preparation and matrix effect.
Stock standard solutions of all analytes were prepared at 100 mg L−1 by dissolving the compounds in methanol. These standard solutions were stored at −20 °C in dark glass bottles during the three-month validity period and diluted with acetonitrile or methanol to prepare working solutions. The working solutions were kept at −20 °C in dark glass bottles for a month, after which they were replaced with fresh solutions.
Antibiotics | Analyte | Formula | Theoretical precursor (m/z) | Retention (min) | Confirmation fragment (m/z) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
a The Δ ppm between the exact precursor and theoretical was no more than 2; the two fragment irons were used for quantification. | |||||
Beta-lactams | Penicillin G | C16H17N2O4S | 334.0982 | 2.53 | 160.0430/176.0710 |
Penicillin G-d7 | C16H17D7N2O4S | 341.1530 | 2.54 | 160.0430/183.1120 | |
Ampicillin | C16H19N3O4S | 350.1169 | 3.20 | 106.0723/160.0428 | |
Penicillin V | C16H17O5N2S | 350.0931 | 3.20 | 106.07/114.00/160.0428 | |
Amoxicillin | C16H19N3O5S | 366.1118 | 3.05 | 114.0429/160.0428 | |
Oxacillin | C19H19N3O5S | 402.1118 | 3.39 | 144.0415/160.0428 | |
Cloxacillin | C19H18ClN3O5S | 436.0729 | 4.36 | 160.0430/178.01/277.04 | |
Tetracyclines | Tetracycline | C22H24N2O8 | 445.1605 | 2.48 | 410.1242/154.0502 |
Tetracycline-d6 | C22H18D6N2O8 | 451.1982 | 2.47 | 416.1541 | |
Doxycycline | C22H24N2O8 | 445.1605 | 3.01 | 428.1349/154.0502 | |
Oxytetracycline | C22H24N2O9 | 461.1555 | 2.54 | 426.1190/201.0550 | |
Chlortetracycline | C22H23ClN2O8 | 479.1216 | 3.51 | 444.0849/462.0954/154.0502 | |
Sulfonamids | Sulfadiazine | C10H10N4O2S | 251.0597 | 1.87 | 156.0116/108.0450 |
Sulfadoxine | C12H14N4O4S | 311.0809 | 3.29 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfadoxine-d3 | C12H11D3N4O4S | 314.0997 | 3.20 | 159.0295 | |
Sulfadimidine | C12H14N4O2S | 279.0910 | 1.70 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfamerazine | C11H12N4O2S | 265.0754 | 2.23 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfamonomethoxine | C11H12N4O3S | 281.0703 | 2.77 | 156.0116/126.0666 | |
Sulfamethoxazole | C10H11N3O3S | 254.0594 | 3.49 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfamethoxypyridazine | C11H12N4O3S | 281.0703 | 3.13 | 156.0116/126.0666 | |
Sulfapyridine | C11H11N3O2S | 250.0645 | 2.08 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfathiazole | C9H9O2N3S2 | 256.0209 | 2.09 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Sulfadimethoxin | C12H14N4O4S | 311.0809 | 4.00 | 156.0116/108.0450 | |
Fluoroquinolones | Enoxacin | C15H17FN4O3 | 321.1358 | 2.4 | 234.1041/206.0729 |
Enrofloxacin | C19H22FN3O3 | 360.1718 | 2.77 | 316.1825/245.1089 | |
Enrofloxacin-d5 | C19H17D5FN3O3 | 365.2032 | 2.72 | 365.2321/347.2537 | |
Fleroxacin | C17H18F3N3O3 | 370.1373 | 2.60 | 326.1480/269.0901 | |
Flumequine | C14H12FNO3 | 262.0874 | 4.81 | 238.0515/244.0766 | |
Gatifloxacin | C19H22FN3O4 | 376.1667 | 2.97 | 332.1771/261.1037 | |
Lomefloxacin | C17H19F2N3O3 | 352.1467 | 2.79 | 265.1152/308.1576 | |
Marbofloxacin | C17H19FN4O4 | 363.1463 | 2.43 | 319.1653/261.1039 | |
Norfloxacin | C16H18FN3O3 | 320.1405 | 2.44 | 276.1511/233.1089 | |
Ofloxacin | C18H20FN3O4 | 362.1511 | 2.44 | 261.1039/318.1618 | |
Oxolinic acid | C13H11NO5 | 262.0710 | 3.87 | 234.0401/244.0602 | |
Sparfoxacin | C19H22F2N4O3 | 393.1733 | 3.18 | 349.1840/292.1260 | |
Macrolides | Tilmicocin | C46H80N2O13 | 869.5733 | 3.95 | 174.1126/696.4690 |
Rosamicin | C31H51NO9 | 582.3637 | 4.81 | 158.1178/116.0711 | |
Roxithromycin | C41H76N2O15 | 837.5319 | 5.34 | 158.1179/679.4365 | |
Roxithromycin-d7 | C41H70D7N2O15 | 844.5758 | 5.32 | 686.5002/158.1179 | |
Clarithromycini | C38H69NO13 | 748.4842 | 5.12 | 158.1182/495.9654 | |
Eprinomectin | C50H75NO14 | 914.5260 | 8.97 | 186.1130/199.1122 | |
Tylosin | C46H77NO17 | 916.5264 | 8.90 | 154.0866/186.1130 |
The MS parameters of PRM were: default charge 1, inclusion on, ms2 resolution 17500, maximum IT 100 ms, AGC target 2.0 × 106, isolation window 2.0 m/z, and NCE/stepped 25, 35, 55. For the method development and data evaluation, operational software of Xcalibur and TraceFinder was used (Thermo Scientific, San Jose, CA, USA). As an additional criterion for confirmation of the presence of particular analytes in positive samples, spectral library of target analytes MS/MS fragments was created using Thermo Library Manager application (Thermo Scientific, San Jose, CA, USA).
In the clean-up step of QuEChERS preparation, various sorbents are used for co-extractives removal depending on the different sample type. Previous reports evaluated more than 50 sorbents in the terms of their selectivity and applicability.18–20 Among these kind of sorbents the most commonly used in the QuEChERS methods is PSA with main function to remove co-extracted constituents such as NH2–organic acids, fatty acids, sugars and ionic-lipids. Moreover, octadecyl silica (C18) provides good results in the purification of samples with significant fat. Accordingly, we selected both PSA and C18 as sorbents, and optimized the ratio using five isotope-labeled standards. The results were obtained by the external standard calibration. It showed that supplement with ratio of 1:1 had the high recovery (Table 2).
Sorbent for clean-up | Recovery% (spiking 100 μg kg−1, n = 3) | Average recovery (%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Penicillin G-d7 | Tetracycline-d6 | Sulfadiazine-d4 | Enrofloxacine-d5 | Roxithromycin-d7 | ||
PSA (100 mg) | 71.5 | 66.2 | 75.2 | 69.4 | 65.7 | 69.6 |
C18 (100 mg) | 55.6 | 65.2 | 66.4 | 70.2 | 58.5 | 63.2 |
PSA/C18 (50 mg:50 mg) | 88.7 | 85.2 | 84.2 | 83.6 | 84.5 | 85.2 |
PSA/C18 (80 mg/20 mg) | 74.2 | 69.5 | 75.5 | 72 | 78.7 | 74.0 |
PSA/C18 (20 mg/80 mg) | 72.2 | 67.5 | 70.5 | 68.5 | 69.8 | 69.7 |
Fig. 1 Chromatogram of total ion with PRM scan mode and five typical extracted ion chromatogram and their spectrum of fragments in spiked sample (10 μg kg−1). |
Fig. 2 Extracted ion chromatogram of enrofloxacin performed in different columns in spiked sample (10 μg kg−1). |
Using hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry, qualification and quantification of complicated compounds can be performed in one analysis. For confirmation of targeted analytes, four identification points must be obtained and, therefore, at least two ions must be included in the high-resolution mass spectrometric method. In present study, we adopted parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) scan mode for selected antibiotics. PRM, basically similar with MRM or SRM in triple quadrupole MS is novel scan strategy that can be utilized on high-resolution MS platforms.22 In this scan mode, targeted precursor ion is isolated in Q1, and then all generated MS/MS fragment ions are recorded in parallel with characteristics of full scan, accurate mass and high-resolution.23 One of the well-known drawbacks of the LC-Orbitrap methodology is co-elution matrix signals may suppress analyses at very low concentrations. This problem was resolved successfully in our method by using PRM scan mode, which only monitored targeted precursor ion (Fig. 1).
In Q-Exactive Orbitrap, the resolving power of is divided to four different levels as medium (17500), enhanced (35000), high (70000) and ultra-high (140000), but increased resolution decreased the scanning speed. Consequently, the choice of this parameter was balanced against the quality of peak shapes where insufficient numbers of scans are plotted, resulting in reduced quantitative capacity.24 For the fragmentation purposes, the relative high dynamic range C-trap setting (1 × 106) and an injection time of 150 ms were selected to combine high detection sensitivity with an extended linear range for quantification. These parameters controlled the capacity of the ion trap to regulate the ion population within it. Sensitivity can be improved by increasing either the C-trap dynamic range value or injection time. Three-step NCE (values adjusted on 25, 35, and 45 eV) was applied in MS2 acquisition mode, which meant the center energy was 35 eV (plus 10 above and below). Most of fragments of selected antibiotics can be obtained with three-step NCE. All fragments created in these steps were collected sequentially in the HCD and sent to the Orbitrap analyser.
Analyte | LODs (μg kg−1) | LOQs (μg kg−1) | Spiking recovery (RSD, %, n = 6) | Inter-day (%, n = 6) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 μg kg−1 | 50 μg kg−1 | 150 μg kg−1 | ||||
Penicillin G | 0.8 | 2.4 | 94.5 (3.5) | 99.6 (4.1) | 100.1 (4.2) | 7.2 |
Ampicillin | 1.0 | 3 | 98.4 (7.1) | 100.1 (5.4) | 96.8 (5.6) | 9.4 |
Penicillin V | 1.1 | 3.3 | 96.3 (4.3) | 96.6 (4.9) | 97.5 (5.1) | 6.9 |
Amoxicillin | 1.5 | 4.5 | 97.2 (3.9) | 97.6 (4.1) | 96.5 (3.4) | 5.2 |
Oxacillin | 0.9 | 2.7 | 89.5 (8.9) | 96.2 (9.5) | 95.1 (8.5) | 12.7 |
Cloxacillin | 1.2 | 3.6 | 96.6 (4.5) | 97.3 (4.3) | 95.2 (4.1) | 6.9 |
Tetracycline | 1.6 | 4.8 | 94.8 (2.9) | 99.2 (2.5) | 95.8 (2.0) | 2.2 |
Doxycycline | 1.5 | 4.5 | 96.7 (3.9) | 105.5 (3.1) | 97.2 (1.5) | 7.2 |
Oxytetracycline | 1.8 | 5.4 | 97.6 (4.8) | 99.6 (4.2) | 96.9 (7.1) | 9.5 |
Chlortetracycline | 1.7 | 5.1 | 93.2 (6.2) | 98.5 (6.1) | 95.8 (3.9) | 5.8 |
Sulfadiazine | 0.8 | 2.4 | 88.7 (3.4) | 97.9 (3.0) | 97.1 (2.9) | 5.1 |
Sulfadoxine | 1.1 | 3.3 | 92.6 (4.5) | 96.5 (4.1) | 94.8 (7.1) | 4.1 |
Sulfadimidine | 0.8 | 2.4 | 93.6 (1.9) | 98.6 (1.6) | 96.2 (2.4) | 3.6 |
Sulfamerazine | 0.9 | 2.7 | 92.4 (6.4) | 95.9 (6.1) | 95.6 (3.5) | 6.2 |
Sulfamonomethoxine | 1.3 | 3.9 | 96.1 (5.5) | 94.9 (4.3) | 92.4 (2.4) | 7.1 |
Sulfamethoxazole | 1.4 | 4.2 | 87.6 (8.8) | 96.3 (4.7) | 95.5 (4.6) | 11.2 |
Sulfamethoxypyridazine | 1.5 | 4.5 | 94.8 (5.7) | 95.9 (2.5) | 96.8 (3.4) | 5.9 |
Sulfapyridine | 0.9 | 2.7 | 96.2 (4.1) | 98.8 (3.5) | 94.8 (2.6) | 3.6 |
Sulfathiazole | 1.0 | 3.0 | 94.3 (8.6) | 99.5 (6.7) | 100.5 (6.1) | 7.8 |
Sulfadimethoxin | 1.2 | 3.6 | 96.8 (2.5) | 97.9 (2.8) | 95.2 (3.2) | 8.2 |
Enoxacin | 1.8 | 5.4 | 99.3 (1.7) | 102.5 (1.9) | 99.8 (2.1) | 3.2 |
Enrofloxacin | 1.6 | 4.8 | 93.5 (5.4) | 97.8 (3.7) | 95.7 (4.1) | 6.9 |
Fleroxacin | 2.1 | 6.3 | 90.5 (4.7) | 96.9 (4.6) | 95.8 (4.9) | 8.5 |
Flumequine | 2.4 | 7.2 | 97.7 (4.6) | 99.9 (5.1) | 96.4 (4.6) | 9.7 |
Gatifloxacin | 2.6 | 7.8 | 97.5 (3.2) | 98.5 (3.4) | 96.2 (3.9) | 9.1 |
Lomefloxacin | 2.2 | 6.6 | 96.6 (2.9) | 99.2 (3.2) | 105.6 (4.1) | 4.5 |
Marbofloxacin | 2.8 | 8.4 | 94.6 (7.6) | 96.8 (4.4) | 96.4 (5.2) | 11.3 |
Norfloxacin | 2.0 | 6.0 | 98.2 (4.5) | 97.4 (4.1) | 99.8 (3.7) | 10.5 |
Ofloxacin | 2.3 | 6.9 | 96.1 (2.2) | 99.1 (2.6) | 94.9 (2.0) | 6.3 |
Oxolinic acid | 1.5 | 4.5 | 95.3 (6.1) | 102.5 (5.4) | 96.8 (7.1) | 5.2 |
Sparfoxacin | 1.6 | 4.8 | 86.8 (5.8) | 101.3 (3.6) | 96.7 (3.6) | 8.4 |
Tilmicocin | 2.9 | 8.7 | 93.1 (4.3) | 99.4 (4.1) | 95.9 (3.4) | 7.5 |
Rosamicin | 2.5 | 7.5 | 94.2 (4.6) | 96.8 (5.2) | 96.8 (5.9) | 10.2 |
Roxithromycin | 2.4 | 7.2 | 91.5 (5.7) | 95.5 (6.6) | 96.1 (8.2) | 9.2 |
Clarithromycin | 3.5 | 10.5 | 85 (7.5) | 94.1 (4.1) | 97.7 (2.9) | 11.5 |
Eprinomectin | 2.6 | 7.8 | 91.6 (9.6) | 95.8 (3.8) | 98.5 (5.4) | 10.7 |
Tylosin | 2.4 | 7.2 | 93.2 (6.7) | 96.2 (4.7) | 96.5 (3.2) | 9.7 |
Fig. 3 Extracted ion chromatogram and spectrum of fragments of norfloxacin (45.6 μg kg−1) and chlortetracycline (12.56 μg kg−1) from two real pork samples. |
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