Determination of patulin in apple juice by amine-functionalized solid-phase extraction coupled with isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Abstract

Patulin is a mycotoxin that mainly contaminates apple juice, which is a typical high sugar matrix. Many different adsorbents have been utilized to develop a sample pretreatment method to minimize the matrix interference from apple juice. A simple and reliable extraction method for the determination of patulin in apple juice has been developed. The sample preparation involves a simple one-step cleanup procedure using amine-functionalized polymeric solid-phase extraction cartridges (Retain AX) that effectively remove interferences and facilitate the quantification. Isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC-MS/MS) was employed to minimize the matrix effect and ensure reliable results. The limit of detection was as low as 0.2 μg kg-1 , which was satisfactory with regard to current European, US, and Chinese legislation. Matrix-matched linearity (r2 = 0.9997) was established in the range of 1-400 μg kg-1 . Recovery was performed in samples spiked at three levels, and results were between 97.2% and 100.2%. The results indicated that, with one-step cleanup, the matrix effect was negligible and sensitivity was satisfactory. Our work provided a simple and reliable method for patulin detection in apple juice and is also very promising in routine quality control. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.