Determination of veterinary drug residues in food of animal origin: Sample preparation methods and analytical techniques

In-tube solid phase extraction with graphitic-based polyurethane sponge as a superhydrophobic sorbent and determination of drug residues in foodstuffs using high-performance liquid chromatography

Veterinary drugs used in animal husbandry raise public health concerns due to their residues in the bodies of animals. This study employs a simple and quick sample preparation technique, in-tube solid phase extraction, to extract drug residues from foodstuffs, including eggs, honey, and water. This technique utilizes the synergy of graphitic-based materials and polyurethane sponges (PU) combined through dip coating method to make reusable sorbents for extracting drugs, including amoxicillin, paracetamol, ciprofloxacin, and cefixime. These prepared sorbents were characterized using FTIR, SEM, and XRD. HPLC analysis assessed the extraction efficiency, considering various parameters such as analyte concentration, sample solution pH, extraction time, type of eluting solvent, and graphitic-based polyurethane sponge reusability and stability. The proposed method exhibited a linear response for all three sorbents in the range of 0.03-1000 µg mL-1, with LOD 0.03-1.60 µg mL-1 and LOQ 0.18-4.84 µg mL-1. The % RSD ranged from 1.3 to 9.3 %, with recoveries of up to 98.42 %.

Magnetic solid phase extraction of aminoglycosides residue in chicken egg samples using Fe3O4-GO-Agarose-Chitosan composite

Difficulties in identification of drug residues in food products arise due to their trace amounts in complex matrices. An eco-friendly and low-cost agarose-chitosan-magnetic graphene oxide based adsorbent was synthesized and employed for determination of aminoglycosides from chicken egg samples through HPLC. Synthesized adsorbent was characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, and VSM. Among two investigated aminoglycosides, streptomycin was derivatized with ninhydrin while gentamicin was detected without its derivatization. Impact of experimental variables such as adsorbent dose, extraction time, temperature, pH, and analyte concentration on extraction efficiency was investigated. Statistical analysis for determination of streptomycin and gentamicin demonstrated excellent linearity in the range of 0.2-1.6 µg kg-1, LOQ of 0.3 and 0.6 µg kg-1 for streptomycin and gentamicin, respectively and LOD of 0.1 and 0.19 µg kg-1 for streptomycin and gentamicin, respectively with RSD of 2.5% and recoveries up to 94%. Regeneration studies revealed that composite film can be used four times without considerable reduction in its extraction efficiency.

Recent Advances in the Determination of Veterinary Drug Residues in Food

The presence of drug residues in food products has become a growing concern because of the adverse health risks and regulatory implications. Drug residues in food refer to the presence of pharmaceutical compounds or their metabolites in products such as meat, fish, eggs, poultry and ready-to-eat foods, which are intended for human consumption. These residues can come from the use of drugs in the field of veterinary medicine, such as antibiotics, antiparasitic agents, growth promoters and other veterinary drugs given to livestock and aquaculture with the aim of providing them as prophylaxis, therapy and for promoting growth. Various analytical techniques are used for this purpose to control the maximum residue limit. Compliance with the maximum residue limit is very important for food manufacturers according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Union (EU) regulations. Effective monitoring and control of drug residues in food requires continuous advances in analytical techniques. Few studies have been reviewed on sample extraction and preparation techniques as well as challenges and future directions for the determination of veterinary drug residues in food. This current review focuses on the overview of regulations, classifications and types of food, as well as the latest analytical methods that have been used in recent years (2020-2023) for the determination of drug residues in food so that appropriate methods and accurate results can be used. The results show that chromatography is still a widely used technique for the determination of drug residue in food. Other approaches have been developed including immunoassay, biosensors, electrophoresis and molecular-based methods. This review provides a new development method that has been used to control veterinary drug residue limit in food.

A one-step solid-phase extraction with UHPLC-MS/MS for fast and accurate determination of multi-class veterinary drugs in animal muscles

Excessive use of veterinary drugs in livestock growth poses a threat to food safety. It is, however, challenging to quantify these multi-class veterinary drugs within animal muscles, because of their varied physicochemical properties. In this work, we presented a simple, efficient and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of multi-class veterinary drugs with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The method involves a highly efficient extraction using a EDTA (pH 7)-ACN (30:70, v/v) solvent system, followed by a one-step solid-phase extraction cleanup approach with PRiME HLB sorbent (Reversed-phase N-vinylpyrrolidone and divinylbenzene copolymer). For all the analytes, over a wide range of polarity, satisfactory recoveries were obtained between 70% and 120%, with relative standard deviations <15%. Excellent sensitivities were achieved with the limits of quantification ranging from 0.2 μg/kg to 3.0 μg/kg. This developed method provides a new targeted strategy for the analysis of multi-class veterinary drugs in muscle matrices.

Evaluation of Antibiotics Residues in Milk and Meat Using Different Analytical Methods

Veterinary drugs are pharmacologically and biologically active chemical agents. At present, veterinary drugs are extensively used to prevent and treat animal diseases, to promote animal growth, and to improve the conversion rate of feed. However, the use of veterinary drugs in food-producing animals may leave residues of the parent compounds and/or their metabolites in food products resulting in harmful effects on humans. To ensure food safety, sensitive and effective analytical methods have been developing rapidly. This review describes sample extraction and cleanup methods, and different analytical techniques are used for the determination of veterinary drug residues in milk and meat. Sample extraction methods, such as solvent extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, and cleanup methods such as dispersive solid-phase extraction and immunoaffinity chromatography, were summarized. Different types of analytical methods such as microbial, immunological, biosensor, thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were discussed for the analysis of veterinary drug residues in animal-derived foods. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is the most widely used analytical technique for the determination of antibiotic drug residues. This is due to the powerful separation of LC and accurate identification of MS, and LC-MS/MS is more popular in the analysis of veterinary drug residues.

Preparation of Functionalized Magnetic Polystyrene Microspheres and Their Application in Food Safety Detection

Based on the specific binding of sulfonic acid groups to melamine, β-agonists and other compounds, Fe₃O₄ nano-magnetic beads were coated with polystyrene using an improved micro-suspension emulsion polymerization method, thus forming core-shell magnetic polystyrene microspheres (Fe₃O₄@PS) with Fe₃O₄ as the core and polystyrene as the shell. These functionalized microspheres, which can be used as magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) adsorbent, were prepared after further sulfonation. These microspheres were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), particle size analysis and saturation magnetization measurement. The results showed that these sulfonated magnetic polystyrene microspheres had favorable sphericity. The particle size of these microspheres ranged from 1 μm to 10 μm. Additionally, these microspheres had good dispersion and magnetic responses in both inorganic and organic solvents. Moreover, these functionalized magnetic polystyrene microspheres were tested and evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The results indicated that these sulfonated magnetic polystyrene microspheres (Fe₃O₄@SPS) could effectively adsorb such illegal additives as β-agonists and melamine in the food matrix.

Rapid determination of 103 common veterinary drug residues in milk and dairy products by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A multi-residue method has been developed for the identification and quantification of 103 common veterinary drug residues in milk and dairy Products. This method was based on QuEChERS with dispersive solid-phase where C18 sorbent and anhydrous sodium sulfate were used to sample purification. After evaporation and reconstitution, the samples were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The mean recovery results were all higher than 60% except ampicillin, pipemidic acid, enoxacin, and estriol, and the relative standard deviation was <20.0%. The limit of quantification ranged between 0.1 and 5 μg/kg for milk and between 0.5 and 25 μg/kg for milk powder. It was successfully used to detect residues of veterinary drug in real samples. This study proposes a simple and fast analytical method for monitoring multi-class veterinary drug residues to ensure food safety.

Simultaneous determination of nereistoxin insecticides in foods of animal origins by combining pH-dependent reversible partitioning with hydrophilic interaction chromatography-mass spectrometry

Although nereistoxin insecticides (NIs) are banned for animal husbandry operations, they are still used because of their high insecticidal activities. Therefore, a reliable residue analysis method for the simultaneous detection of cartap, bensultap, thiocyclam, and nereistoxin in foods of animal origins, including beef, pork, chicken, milk, and eggs, was developed using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC-LC-MS/MS). The NIs were extracted with an acidic cysteine and formate buffer solution and hydrolyzed to nereistoxin. The molarity and pH of the buffer were optimized at 20 mM and 3, respectively, to keep the pH of the extracts at 4-5. pH-dependent acid-base partitioning coupled with salting-out-assisted liquid-liquid extraction using acetonitrile was performed for purification and for the direct introduction of the extracts to LC. The optimal pH values were 5 and 9 for the acid-base partitioning. Nereistoxin quantitation was achieved with consistent column retention (RSD < 0.6%) and a high degree of separation (N > 10⁶). The matrix-dependent method limit of quantitation was 2 μg nereistoxin/kg, and the calibration curve showed good linearity (R² > 0.998). The recovery efficiencies were in the range of 89.2-109.9% with relative standard deviations less than 10%, and matrix effects did not exceed ± 10%, which satisfied the criteria outlined in the European SANTE/12682/2019 guidelines.

Quantification and Determination of Stability of Tylvalosin in Pig Plasma by Ultra-High Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet Detection

Tylvalosin (TV) is a macrolide antibiotic that is used for treating respiratory and enteric bacterial infections in swine and in poultry. In the coming years, the use of this drug will probably be widely studied in different species, but before its use in each veterinary species, macrolide analytical determination in various biological fluids is a pre-requisite step for the rational dose calculation of TV based on specific pharmacokinetic information. Its quantification is essential for detecting and avoiding the appearance of residues in animal products intended for human consumption. Therefore, a robust chromatographic method coupled with an ultraviolet detector was fully validated for the quantification of TV in pig plasma. A mixture (78:22) of (A) 0.3% formic acid in water and (B) acetonitrile was used as the mobile phase. TV and enrofloxacin (internal standard) were eluted at 14.1 and 5.9 min, respectively. Calibration curves ranged from 0.1 to 5 μg/mL. The accuracy and precision parameters for the quality controls were always <13.0%. Recovery ranged from 89.66 to 96.92%. The detection and quantification limits were found to be 0.05 μg/mL and 0.1 μg/mL, respectively. This method could be applied to develop pharmacokinetic studies.

Detection and quantification of multiclass antibiotic residues in poultry products using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection

This article describes the initial study on the simultaneous determination of multiclass antibiotic residues in imported and local frozen poultry specimens, including turkey gizzard and muscle tissues, and chicken muscle tissues, commonly consumed in Ogun State, Nigeria. Minced tissues were treated with phosphate buffer adjusted to pH 7 that was cleaned using C18 SPE-column (Supelclean™) cartridge. For the determination of six antibiotic residues including fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, and macrolides, a solid-phase extraction method was used, followed by extract analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection (HPLC–DAD). The coefficient of determination (R²) for the external standards for all the analytes ranged between 0.963 and 0.999. The limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) ranged between 5.37 – 55.4 μg/kg, and 17.9–185 μg/kg, respectively. Enrofloxacin, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamerazine, and tylosin showed high concentration levels in the frozen poultry beyond acceptable maximum residue limits (MRLs). The six drugs considered in this study were present at higher concentrations in domestic chicken tissues than the permissible level. This suggests that farmers do not observe the cessation period before poultry birds previously treated with antibiotics are sold to consumers thus exposing them to potentially hazardous antibiotic residues.

Onsite/on-field analysis of pesticide and veterinary drug residues by a state-of-art technology: A review

Pesticides and veterinary drugs are generally employed to control pests and insects in crop and livestock farming. However, remaining residues are considered potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. Therefore, regular monitoring is required for assessing and legislation of pesticides and veterinary drugs. Various approaches to determining residues in various agricultural and animal food products have been reported. Most analytical methods involve sample extraction, purification (cleanup), and detection. Traditional sample preparation is time-consuming labor-intensive, expensive, and requires a large amount of toxic organic solvent, along with high probability for the decomposition of a compound before the analysis. Thus, modern sample preparation techniques, such as the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method, have been widely accepted in the scientific community for its versatile application; however, it still requires a laboratory setup for the extraction and purification processes, which also involves the utilization of a toxic solvent. Therefore, it is crucial to elucidate recent technologies that are simple, portable, green, quick, and cost-effective for onsite and infield residue detections. Several technologies, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, quantum dots, biosensing, and miniaturized gas chromatography, are now available. Further, several onsite techniques, such as ion mobility-mass spectrometry, are now being upgraded; some of them, although unable to analyze field sample directly, can analyze a large number of compounds within very short time (such as time-of-flight and Orbitrap mass spectrometry). Thus, to stay updated with scientific advances and analyze organic contaminants effectively and safely, it is necessary to study all of the state-of-art technology.