Determination of 15 human pharmaceutical residues in fish and shrimp tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

An efficient, reliable, and sensitive multiclass analytical method has been expanded to simultaneously determine 15 human pharmaceutical residues in fish and shrimp tissue samples by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The investigated compounds comprise ten classes, namely, analgesic, antibacterial, anticonvulsant, cardiovascular, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, penicillins, stimulant, and sulfonamide. A simple liquid extraction procedure based on 0.1% formic acid in methanol was developed. Chromatographic conditions were optimized, and mobile phase A was 0.1% ammonium acetate, and mobile phase B was acetonitrile. The mobile phase’s gradient program was as follows: 0–2 min, 15% B; 2–5 min, linear to 95% B; 5–10 min, 95% B; and 10–12 min. The limits of detection were from 0.017 to 1.371 μg/kg, while a quantification range was measured from 0.051 to 4.113 μg/kg. Finally, amoxicillin, azithromycin, caffeine, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, diclofenac, erythromycin, furosemide, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, and triclosan were quantifiable in fish and shrimp samples.