Trace analysis of three fungicides in animal origin foods with a modified QuEChERS method and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Zhaobin Mu, Xiaoxiao Feng, Yun Zhang, Hongyan Zhang

A multi-residue method based on modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) sample preparation, followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), was developed and validated for the determination of three selected fungicides (propiconazole, pyraclostrobin, and isopyrazam) in seven animal origin foods. The overall recoveries at the three spiking levels of 0.005, 0.05, and 0.5 mg kg(-1) spanned between 72.3 and 101.4 % with relative standard deviation (RSD) values between 0.7 and 14.9 %. The method shows good linearity in the concentrations between 0.001 and 1 mg L(-1) with the coefficient of determination (R (2)) value >0.99 for each target analyte. The limit of detections (LODs) for target analytes were between 0.04 and 1.26 μg kg(-1), and the limit of quantifications (LOQs) were between 0.13 and 4.20 μg kg(-1). The matrix effect for each individual compound was evaluated through the study of ratios of the areas obtained in solvent and matrix standards. The optimized method provided a negligible matrix effect for propiconazole within 20 %, whereas for pyraclostrobin and isopyrazam, the matrix effect was relatively significant with a maximum value of 49.8 %. The developed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of 210 animal origin samples obtained from 16 provinces of China. The results suggested that the developed method was satisfactory for trace analysis of three fungicides in animal origin foods. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of the proposed residue analytical method for animal origin foods using QuEChERS and LC-MS/MS.