Analysis of beta-agonist residues in bovine hair: Development of a UPLC–MS/MS method and stability study

Quick and high-throughput quantification of β-agonist residues in bovine liver, meat, milk, kidney, poultry, and egg using dispersive solid phase extraction

A reliable liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) method was developed for the simultaneous identification and quantification of 13 β-agonist residues in bovine liver, meat, milk, kidney, poultry, and egg. Dispersive-solid phase extraction (d-SPE) using acetonitrile (ACN) was used to prepare the samples. The analyte in the extracts was separated on a reversed-phase Accucore aQ (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 2.6 μm) using a mobile phase of an aqueous solution containing 2 mM ammonium acetate and acetonitrile (ACN) 0.1 % formic acid. The method was validated in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (CIR) EU 2021/808 at six different concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 5 μg/kg. The mean recoveries ranged from 65 to 94 %, while repeatability and reproducibility values were all below 13 %. The linearity, as correlation coefficients (R2) ranged from 0.9955 to 0.9999. The decision limit (CCα) and detection capability (CCβ) ranges were 0.11-0.13 µg/kg and 0.12-0.15 µg/kg, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the range of 0.004-0.048 μg/kg and 0.010-0.075 μg/kg, respectively. Of the 180 samples that were collected from local markets in Egypt, 21.11 % had β-agonist residues. The mean concentration (µg/kg) and detection frequency (%) of the most frequently found β-agonist in the samples were as follows: terbutaline (2.63 µg/kg and 90 %), ractopamine (5.14 µg/kg and 23.3 %). The method's applicability was verified by successfully completing two rounds of proficiency testing (PT).

Analysis of 14 β-agonists in pork using an automated wooden tip-based solid-phase microextraction device and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

This study introduces a cost-effective, automated ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of 14 β-agonists in pork using a novel solid-phase microextraction probe composed of polyacrylonitrile and molecularly imprinted polymer. Integrated into an automated extraction device, the probe optimizes extraction prior to analysis while reducing expenses and time compared to traditional solid-phase extraction procedures. The method validation followed the Chinese National Standard (GB/T 27404-2008) and examined limits of detection, limits of quantification, matrix effects, linearity, intraday, and interday precision. Average recovery rates ranged from 71.6% to 82.2%, with relative standard deviations less than 15%. Limits of detection and limits of quantification ranged from 0.09 to 0.39 and 0.27 to 0.99 μg/kg, respectively. The new method identified positive samples more accurately than the current National Standard GB/T 31658.22-2022 and demonstrated its potential for routine assessment and regulatory compliance in the detection of β-agonists in pork.

Core-Satellite Nanoassemblies as SPR/SERS Dual-Mode Plasmonic Sensors for Sensitively Detecting Ractopamine in Complex Media

Highly sensitive and reliable detection of β-adrenergic agonists is especially necessary due to the illegal abuse of growth-promoting feed additives. Here, we develop a novel surface plasmon resonance/surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SPR/SERS) dual-mode plasmonic sensor based on core-satellite nanoassemblies for the highly sensitive and reliable detection of ractopamine (RAC). The addition of RAC results in the decomposition of core-satellite nanoassemblies and consequently changes the Rayleigh scattering color of dark-field microscopy (DFM) images and the Raman scattering intensity of SERS spectra. The excellent sensitivity, specificity, and uniformity of this strategy were confirmed by detecting RAC in various complex media in the farm-to-table chain, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.03 ng/mL in an aqueous solution. In particular, the convenient access to livestock sewage not only ensures animal welfare but also provides great convenience for the market regulation of β-agonists. The success of our on-site strategy only with a portable Raman device promises great application prospects for β-agonist detection.

Determination of β2-Agonist Residues in Fermented Ham Using UHPLC-MS/MS after Enzymatic Digestion and Sulfonic Resin Solid Phase Purification

β₂-agonists are a class of synthetic sympathomimetic drugs with acute poisoning effects if consumed as residues in foods. To improve the efficiency of sample preparation and to overcome matrix-dependent signal suppression in the quantitative analysis of four β₂-agonists (clenbuterol, ractopamine, salbutamol, and terbutaline) residues in fermented ham, an enzyme digestion coupled cation exchange purification method for sample preparation was established using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Enzymatic digests were subject to cleanup treatment on three different solid phase extraction (SPE) columns and a polymer-based strong cation resin (SCR) cartridge containing sulfonic resin was found to be optimal compared with silica-based sulfonic acid and polymer sulfonic acid resins based SPEs. The analytes were investigated over the linear range of 0.5 to 10.0 μg/kg with recovery rates of 76.0-102.0%, and a relative standard deviation of 1.8-13.3% (n = 6). The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.1 μg/kg and 0.3 μg/kg, respectively. This newly developed method was applied to the detection of β₂-agonist residues in 50 commercial ham products and only one sample was found to contain β₂-agonist residues (clenbuterol at 15.2 µg/kg).

Rapid Screening of β-agonists in Animal Hair by Thermal Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

BACKGROUND

Even though the usage of β-agonists in livestock has been banned in many countries, β-agonists abuse is still out of control towing to the time-consuming and complicated determination technique.

OBJECTIVE

This study applied ambient thermal desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS) as a new strategy for rapidly screening 7 β-agonists. As it does not require pretreatment, this method allows in-site and real time detection.

METHODS

Samples were collected directly using a simple metal probe. Analytes on the probe were desorbed and ionized in TD-ESI, after which analyte ions were detected using a triple quadrupole mass analyser.

RESULTS

The results showed that thermal desorption temperature of 320 °C and nebulizer pressure of 3 psi demonstrated the highest sensitivity. Excellent linear relationships were obtained in concentrations ranging from 10 to 400 μg/kg. The limit of detection of the method was 1-10 μg/kg with relative standard deviation of 7.2%-14.6%. A positive sample was verified using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry, consistent with the results from TD-ESI/MS.

CONCLUSIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS

This method was the first to apply TD-ESI/MS to rapid analyse β-agonists in livestock hair which was proven to be accurate, fast and environmentally friendly. Because qualitative screening for each analysis was completed within approximately 1 min, it seems to contribute to prevent non-compliance animal-derived food flowing into the market.

Multi-functional porous organic polymers for highly-efficient solid-phase extraction of β-agonists and β-blockers in milk

A simple, accurate, and highly sensitive analytical method was developed in this study for the determination of ten β-agonists and five β-blockers in milk. In this method, new adsorbent phosphonic acid-functionalized porous organic polymers were synthesized through a direct knitting method. The synthesis procedure of the materials and the extraction conditions (such as the composition of loading buffer and eluent) were optimized. Benefitting from the high surface area (545–804 m² g⁻¹), multiple functional framework and good porosity, the phosphonic acid-functionalized porous organic polymers showed a high adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity for β-agonists (224 mg g⁻¹ and 171 mg g⁻¹ for clenbuterol and ractopamine, respectively). The analytes were quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. It showed a good linearity (with R² ranging from 0.9950 to 0.9991 in the linear range of 3–5 orders of magnitude), with low limits of quantification ranging from 0.05 to 0.25 ng g⁻¹. The limits of detection of the method for the analytes were measured to be in the range of 0.02 to 0.1 ng g⁻¹. The recoveries of target analytes from real samples on the material were in the range of 62.4–119.4% with relative standard deviations of 0.6–12.1% (n = 4). Moreover, good reproducibility of the method was obtained with the interday RSD being lower than 11.7% (n = 5) and intraday RSD lower than 12.2% (n = 4). The proposed method was accurate, reliable and convenient for the simultaneous analysis of multiple β-agonists and β-blockers. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the analysis of such compounds in milk samples.

Novel phosphonic acid-functionalized porous organic polymers were synthesized through direct knitting method. It shows high adsorption efficiency and high adsorption capacity for multiple β-agonists and β-blockers analysis.

Response Surface Methodology for Spectrophotometric Determination of Two β-Adrenergic Agonists-Terbium Chemosensors in Urine and Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

BACKGROUND

According to literature reports, none of the previous methods of analysis had touched the multivariate approach for the quantification of significant factors affecting the interaction of dobutamine or hexoprenaline with Terbium.

OBJECTIVE

Two novel β-adrenergic agonists-lanthanide chemosensors were prepared for the determination of dobutamine and hexoprenaline in their pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms and in urine samples. Fabrication of the two chemosensors was based on their ligand-metal interaction with the lanthanide Terbium.

METHODS

A Plackett-Burman Design (PBD) was selected for the screening of four main variables (reaction time, metal volume, pH, and temperature). Applying Response Surface Methodology (RSM), a Central Composite Design (CCD) was executed for the optimization of the significant factors with narrower upper and lower limits. Spectrophotometric technique was exploited for the analysis of the two chemosensors.

RESULTS

Maximum absorption was obtained at 299 and 298 nm for dobutamine-terbium and hexoprenaline-terbium complexes, respectively. Only factors that were found to bear significant effects on the formed complexes were promoted to the optimization level. Model verification was carried out, where target results coincided with those at the predicted levels, indicating the efficiency of the two proposed models. Validation of the proposed was implemented and linear ranges were found to be 3.30-13.50 and 1.90-10.00 µg/mL, for dobutamine and hexoprenaline, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Recovery and relative standard deviation values by application in pure powder, pharmaceutical dosage forms and spiked urine samples indicated high accuracy and reproducibility. Wide-ranging linear values and comparatively low detection limits inferred the effectiveness of the proposed method.

HIGHLIGHTS

RSM for optimization of spectrophotometric determination of dobutamine and hexoprenaline β-adrenergic agonists-lanthanide chemosensors; PBD was used for screening and CCD for optimization of variables affecting the spectrophotometric method; Determination of dobutamine and hexoprenaline in pure powder, pharmaceutical dosage form, and spiked urine samples was accomplished after method validation.

Extracellular and intracellular zilpaterol and clenbuterol quantification in Hep G2 liver cells by UPLC-PDA and UPLC-MS/MS

Zilpaterol and Clenbuterol are β-adrenergic agonists that have been widely used to feed cattle. Although the use of Zilpaterol has been approved, Clenbuterol is still used illegally at unknown doses. However, the research of both substances has been based mainly on the evaluation of residues. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a cellular model using Hep G2 cells treated with Zilpaterol and Clenbuterol is presented as an alternative approach to quantify both drugs at the cellular level. Thus, a complete analytical methodology has been developed for the accurate quantitation of these β-adrenergic agonists in both cellular compartments. We propose the use of ultra-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (UPLC-PDA) for extracellular determinations while UPLC coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) for intracellular analysis. The methods were fully validated in terms of selectivity, linearity, accuracy, and precision, limits of detection and quantitation (LOD and LOQ, respectively), stability, carryover, and matrix effect. The method for intracellular content was linear ranging from 0.25 to 8 ng/mL while for extracellular content, the concentration of Zilpaterol and Clenbuterol ranged from 0.125 to 4 μg/mL, with correlation coefficients of R > 0.98 and >0.99, respectively. The combination of the two methodologies in the cellular model showed intracellular concentrations of 0.344 ± 0.06 μg/mL and 2.483 ± 0.36 μg/mL for Zilpaterol and Clenbuterol, respectively. Extracellular concentration was 0.728 ± 0.14 μg/mL and 0.822 ± 0.11 μg/mL for Zilpaterol and Clenbuterol, respectively. This work shows the potential applications of cellular modelling in the study of toxicity for the mentioned drugs.

Calculate of withdrawal times of clenbuterol in goats to obtain safe times of slaughter

Background and Aim:

Clenbuterol as a β₂-agonist drug was investigated according to the concentration of the drug available in the bodies of goats and according to the level of sensitivity of the instruments used for detection. The objective of the current study was to determine withdrawal times after giving a therapeutic dose that resulted in safe slaughters.

Materials and Methods:

Five healthy male goats with a mean body weight of 20.64 kg were treated with a single dose of 5.10⁻³ mg^/kg in the BW onto jugular vein. Whole blood samples of approximately 5 mL were taken in a time series at 5, 30, 60, 90, 150, 210, 270, 390, 510, 630, and 750 min. At 24 h posttreatment, all subjects were sacrificed, and 300 g samples of the liver were obtained. The plasma concentration and liver residue of the drug were observed by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results:

The drug reached a maximum concentration of 19.233±0.331 µg/mL at 5 min, and the elimination half-life was at 173.25 min. The limit detection was obtained at 0.053 µg/mL. A one-way analysis of variance between all goats showed that elimination of the clenbuterol in their bodies was similar (p=1.00), with a withdrawal time of 1,479.326 min and no residues in the liver (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

Safe times for slaughter were determined to be at 2 days, 13 h, and 12 min as the 2^nd safety factor (SF) time and 3 days, 1 h, and 58 min as the 3^rd SF time with the liver organ free from residue.

elimination half-life, new method for calculating withdrawal time, prescriptions for obtained β₂-agonist, residues in liver.

Development and validation of an UHPLC-MS/MS method for β2-agonists quantification in human urine and application to clinical samples

A fast analytical method for the simultaneous detection of 24 β₂-agonists in human urine was developed and validated. The method covers the therapeutic drugs most commonly administered, but also potentially abused β₂-agonists. The procedure is based on enzymatic deconjugation with β-glucuronidase followed by SPE clean up using mixed-phase cartridges with both ion-exchange and lipophilic properties. Instrumental analysis conducted by UHPLC-MS/MS allowed high peak resolution and rapid chromatographic separation, with reduced time and costs. The method was fully validated according ISO 17025:2005 principles. The following parameters were determined for each analyte: specificity, selectivity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, recovery and carry-over. The method was tested on real samples obtained from patients subjected to clinical treatment under chronic or acute therapy with either formoterol, indacaterol, salbutamol, or salmeterol. The drugs were administered using pressurized metered dose inhalers. All β₂-agonists administered to the patients were detected in the real samples. The method proved adequate to accurately measure the concentration of these analytes in the real samples. The observed analytical data are discussed with reference to the administered dose and the duration of the therapy.