Rapid and Semiautomated Method for the Analysis of Veterinary Drug Residues in Honey Based on Turbulent-Flow Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry (TFC-UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS)

A simple and rapid method is described for the determination of veterinary drug (VD) residues in honey samples using turbulent flow chromatography coupled to ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (TFC-UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS). Honey samples were diluted with an aqueous solution of Na(2)EDTA (0.1 M). Then, they were injected into the chromatographic system including a TFC column. Afterward, the analytes were transferred to an UHPLC analytical column, where they were determined by UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS. Mean recoveries were obtained at three concentration levels (5, 10, and 50 μg/kg), ranging from 68 to 121% for most compounds. Repeatability (intraday precision) and interday precision (expressed as relative standard deviation, RSD) were <25% for most compounds. Limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 5 to 50 μg/kg and limits of identification (LOIs) from 0.1 to 50 μg/kg. The developed method was applied in honey samples, and it was fast and nonlaborious.