Determination of clenbuterol in horse hair by gas chromatography - Tandem mass spectrometry

To investigate drug detection in samples of horse hair from the coat (on the neck), mane, and tail, three clenbuterol studies were conducted on a total of four horses. The analytical procedure consisted in acid hydrolysis of the hair, solid-phase extraction, and quantification by gas chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry in scan mode on an ion-trap instrument. The calibration was linear in the range 4 to 60 pg mg(-1). The limit of detection was 1 pg mg(-1). The method enabled retrospective analysis - measurement of clenbuterol in the tail was possible for up to 13 months after the last administration of drug.