Determination of Quinolone Antibiotic Residues in Chicken Meat by Wayeal’s LCMS-TQ9200 Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) System

Determination of Quinolone Antibiotic Residues in Chicken Meat by Wayeal’s LCMS-TQ9200 Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) System

China's National Food Safety Standard "GB 31650-2019 Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs in Foods" specifies the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of certain quinolone antibiotics in animal-derived food products. Additionally, "GB 31658.17-2021 National Food Safety Standard - Determination of Tetracyclines, Sulfonamides and Quinolones Residues in Foods of Animal Origin by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry" specifies the LC-MS/MS analytical method and corresponding limits of quantification (LOQs) for 13 quinolone antibiotics. This application note presents the successfully validated results for the analysis of 13 quinolone antibiotic residues in chicken meat using Wayeal's LCMS-TQ9200 triple quadrupole liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system.

Keywords: LC-MS/MS, quinolones, veterinary drug residues, food safety.

Wayeal LCMS-TQ9200 Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry System

Liquid Chromatography Method

Chromatography column: C18 3.0x100mm

Mobile phase : A : 0.1% formic acid methanol, B: 0.1% formic acid solution

Flow rate: 0.4mL/min

Column temperature: 45°C

Injection volume: 3μL

Mass Spectrometry Method

Table 1 Mass Spectrometry Ion Source Parameters

Table 2 Mass Spectrometry Parameters for Each Compound

Note: The ion marked with * is the quantitative ion

1. Experiment Result

1.1 Peak Shape

The determination of 13 quinolone antibiotics was completed within 11 minutes. All peaks had good peak shapes without the common tailing phenomenon of quinolone antibiotics. All compounds demonstrated strong signal responses, meeting the requirements for experimental quantification.

Fig 1 Chromatogram of 13 Quinolone Antibiotics

1.2. Liner Range

An appropriate amount of quinolone mixed standard solution was serially diluted to prepare calibration standards spanning concentrations from 2 to 500 ng/mL. The linearity evaluation demonstrated excellent agreement with nominal concentrations, with all deviations within the maximum allowable error. The coefficient of determination (R²) ranged from 0.9921 to 0.9998, confirming satisfactory linearity for all components.

Table 3 Linear Range Table

Fig 2 Linear Range Results for Selected Quinolone Antibiotics

1.3. Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ)

The National Food Safety Standard GB 31658.17-2021, specifies a detection limit (MDL) of 2μg/kg and the quantification limit (MQL) of 10μg/kg. In this method, all target compounds demonstrated signal-to-noise ratios significantly greater than 3 at 2μg/kg and 10 at 10μg/kg, fully complying with the sensitivity requirements specified in the national standard.