Determination of Chloramphenicol, Florfenicol, and Thiamphenicol in Honey Using Agilent SampliQ OPT Solid-Phase Extraction Cartridges and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A method for the simultaneous determination of three antibiotic residues of chloramphenicol (CAP), florfenicol (FF), and thiamphenicol (TAP) in honey has been developed and validated. The analytes are purified by liquid/liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction (SPE) and are quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) operating in negative ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Chloramphenicol-D5 is used as the internal standard. The method is validated by achieving reproducible, satisfactory, quantitative results. The method provides a sub-ng/g to ng/g level of limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all three antibiotics in honey. The overall recoveries range from 74.9 to 107% with RSD values between 0.5 and 9.7%. The dynamic calibration ranges for chloramphenicol and florfenicol are obtained over 0.1 to 20.0 ng/g and 1.0 to 20.0 ng/g for thiamphenicol. The method is demonstrated to be fast, simple, and efficient for monitoring chloramphenicol, florfenicol, and thiamphenicol residues in honey. Authors Limian Zhao Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2850 Centerville Road Wilmington, DE 19808 USA Carol Haney Ball Agilent Technologies, Inc. 200 Regency Forest Drive Cary, NC 27511 USA Application Note Food Safety