A generic and rapid analytical method for comprehensive determination of veterinary drugs and other contaminants in raw honey

Abstract

A generic, rapid, simple and low-cost analytical method for simultaneously screening and confirming 400 veterinary drugs and other contaminants in raw honey was developed. The method was based on one-step extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry. A well-designed extraction method results in the complete precipitation of proteins and separation of analytes from carbohydrates and reduces the time and cost of analysis by covering polar to non-polar analytes. Optimized pretreatment processes lead to no significant interference on analysis from complicated sample matrix. Competent linearity was found for all of target compounds with linear regression coefficients (R) higher than 0.99. Detection limits ranged from 0.05 µg/kg to 10 µg/kg. Average recovery rates spiked in raw honey and ranged from 57.3% to 139.8%, and associated relative standard deviation values ranged from 0.4% to 25.2% under selected conditions. The extraction sensitivity, linearity, recovery, and precision of the method were validated. The results clearly demonstrated the feasibility of using this approach in raw honey purchase. The application of this method, which improved efficiency and the coverage of residues, may considerably reduce effort and time in routine monitoring programs.