Gas chromatography–triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry: a powerful tool for the (ultra)trace analysis of multiclass environmental contaminants in fish and fish feed

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2013-09, Vol.405 (24), p.7803-7815
• Main Authors: Kalachova, Kamila, Pulkrabova, Jana, Cajka, Tomas, Drabova, Lucie, Stupak, Michal, Hajslova, Jana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Animal Feed - standards; Animal feeding and feeds; Animal tissues; Animals; Aquaculture; Biochemistry; Brominated hydrocarbons; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical properties; Chemicals; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromatography; Contaminants; Contamination; Diet; Dioxins; Economic conditions; Environmental aspects; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - chemistry; Fish; Fish feeds; Fishes; Flame retardants; Food; Food Contamination; Food Safety - methods; Food Science; Gas chromatography; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Halogenated hydrocarbons; Identification and classification; Ionization; Laboratory Medicine; Limit of Detection; Mass spectrometry; Methods; Micropollutants; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; PCB; Persistent organic pollutants; Pesticides; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - standards; Principal Component Analysis; Quadrupoles; Quality Control; Rapid Detection in Food and Feed; Research Paper; Sample preparation; Scientific imaging; Silica; Tandem Mass Spectrometry
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-013-7000-4

A new method for rapid determination of 73 target organic environmental contaminants including 18 polychlorinated biphenyls, 16 organochlorinated pesticides, 14 brominated flame retardants and 25 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fish and fish feed using gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) was developed and validated. GC–MS/MS in electron ionization mode was shown to be a powerful tool for the (ultra)trace analysis of multiclass environmental contaminants in complex matrices, providing measurements with high selectivity and sensitivity. Another positive aspect characterizing the newly developed method is a substantial simplification of the sample preparation, which was achieved by an ethyl acetate QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) based extraction followed by silica minicolumn clean-up. With use of this sample preparation approach the sample laboratory throughput was increased not only because six samples may be prepared in approximately 1 h, but also because all the above-mentioned groups of contaminants can be determined in a single GC–MS/MS run. Under the optimized conditions, the recoveries of all target analytes in both matrices were within the range from 70 to 120 % and the repeatabilities were 20 % or less. The method quantification limits were in the range from 0.005 to 1 μg kg –1 and from 0.05 to 10 μg kg –1 for fish muscle tissue and fish feed, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of halogenated persistent organic pollutants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fish and fish feed samples.