Analysis of 140 Veterinary Drugs and Other Contaminants in Poultry Muscle by Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A simple, straightforward multi-class analytical method was developed for the identification of 140 veterinary drug residues and other contaminants in poultry muscle, ranging from very polar to reasonably non-polar drugs, including basic, amphoteric, and neutral compounds. The method was based on extraction with acetonitrile–aqueous ethanol aqueous, purification by n-hexane, and low temperature clean-up and analysis in a single analytical run by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–ESI–MS/MS) operating in positive multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). For most of the target analytes, the optimized pretreatment processes led to no significant interference on the analysis of the sample matrix. Limits of quantification (LOQs) varied from 0.05 to 10 µg kg−1. Average analyte recoveries ranged from 60 to 139%, and the intra-day and inter-day precision were 2–30% and 4–29%, respectively. For over 90% of the analytes, the average recovery values ranged from 70 to 120% with the corresponding RSD below 20%, which were acceptable and in agreement with the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. This methodology has been successfully applied for the analysis of poultry muscle samples from local markets (China). Quinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and amantadine were frequently detected in poultry samples.