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.