Development of microwave-assisted extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for determination of maleic hydrazide residues in tobacco

Herein, an effective and rapid method involving microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of maleic hydrazide residues in tobacco. In order to completely extract the free and bound maleic hydrazide, MAE was employed to accelerate the hydrolysis of maleic hydrazide glycoside, which was proved to be a powerful extraction method in comparison with conventional extraction methods. Then the obtained extract was filtered and directly analyzed by LC-MS/MS without further pretreatment, and d(2)-maleic hydrazide was used as the internal standard to reduce the matrix effects. A dynamic range of 50-5000 ng mL(-1) was achieved with a limit of detection of 0.16 mg kg(-1) for maleic hydrazide. The established method exhibited good repeatability and recovery for maleic hydrazide, and could be used as a rapid and reliable approach for routine analysis of maleic hydrazide in tobacco.