Determination of β-lactam antibiotics in animal derived foods by modified QuEChERS coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

This study aimed to develop an effective method for simultaneously determining 52 kinds of β-lactam antibiotics (β-LAs) in meat and poultry, aquatic products, milk and eggs samples based on a modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) sample preparation technique coupled with ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results show that the standard curves of the 52 different β-LAs demonstrated excellent linearity in their respective concentration ranges, with correlation coefficients (r) > 0.999. The limit of detections (LODs) and limit of quantifications (LOQs) were 0.01–2.06 µg/kg and 0.03–6.87 µg/kg, respectively. The average recoveries of the β-LAs at three different spike concentrations (10, 20, and 50 µg/kg) range from 67.1% to 109.8%, with relative standard deviations of 0.5–9.9% (n = 7). The method was successfully applied to the determination of β-LAs in real samples, which provided a powerful tool for monitoring β-LAs residues in animal derived foods.