Simultaneous Determination of Seven Neonicotinoid Pesticide Residues in Food by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

The present study developed an improved analytical method for simultaneous quantification of seven neonicotinoids in food by ultraperformance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC−MS/MS) under the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The optimization of extraction, cleanup, UPLC separation and MS/MS parameters of analytes were especially focused on. The low limits of quantification (LOQs) of neonicotinoids ranged from 0.1 to 6 μg kg⁻¹. Meanwhile, reasonable recoveries (65−120%) of seven neonicotinoids for food including apple, cabbage, potato, rice, tea, milk, chicken, pork and egg were demonstrated in different spiked levels within their respective linear range (0.025−150 μg kg⁻¹). The developed analytical method would be appropriate for the routine, high throughput, high sensitivity quantification of seven neonicotinoids using simple sample pretreatment.