A Green and Rapid Analytical Method for Determination of Kitasamycin in Animal Feedstuffs by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

A rapid, simple, highly efficiency analytical method for detecting kitasamycin A1, A4, A5, and A13 in different feedstuffs was successfully developed by combining enhanced matrix removal (EMR) lipid cartridge and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). After extraction with acetonitrile, the sample supernatants were directly passed through the EMR lipid cartridge. Then, the cartridge was rinsed and eluted with acetonitrile and methanol, respectively, followed by UHPLC-MS/MS analysis with positive mode using multiple reaction monitoring. Optimized pretreatment procedure without solvent conversion, multiple nitrogen drying steps and activated cartridge before loading, and no significant interference were found during the analysis of different types of animal feedstuffs. Excellent sensitivity (Limit of quantification, LOQ) of kitasamycin A1, A4, A5, and A13 was 1.1–2.0 μg/kg. Satisfactory recoveries of kitasamycin A1, A4, A5, and A13 in different feedstuffs were from 74.0% to 98.8%, with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 10.4%, and good linear correlation coefficient ( r 2 )>0.9980 in the matrix matched standard curve range of 0.02–50.0 μg/L. Results demonstrated that the developed method exhibited excellent linearity, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and the feasibility of using this method in kitasamycin determination of animal feedstuffs. The method was evaluated using the greenness analysis method through Eco-Scale assessment tool.

Keywords: Kitasamycin, Solid phase extraction, Matrix removal lipid cartridge, UHPLC-MS/MS, Feedstuff