10.26091/ESRNZ.9560735.v1 Yao Feng Yao Feng Wen-Juan Zhang Wen-Juan Zhang Yuan-Wang Liu Yuan-Wang Liu Jian-Ming Xue Jian-Ming Xue Shuo-Qing Zhang Shuo-Qing Zhang Zhao-Jun Li Zhao-Jun Li A simple, sensitive, and reliable method for the simultaneous determination of multiple antibiotics in vegetables through SPE-HPLC-MS/MS Institute of Environmental Science and Research 2019 Antibiotics Vegetable SPE-HPLC-MS/MS Farming Farmland Ecosystem Antibiotic residues Food safety China Crop and Pasture Biochemistry and Physiology Crop and Pasture Nutrition Farming Systems Research 2019-08-19 04:19:21 Journal contribution https://research.esr.cri.nz/articles/journal_contribution/A_simple_sensitive_and_reliable_method_for_the_simultaneous_determination_of_multiple_antibiotics_in_vegetables_through_SPE-HPLC-MS_MS/9560735 Antibiotics, widely used in livestock breeding, enter the environment through animal manure because of incomplete absorption in animals, especially the farmland ecosystem. Therefore, antibiotics may be adsorbed by plants and even become hazardous to human health through the food chain. In this study, a simple, sensitive, and reliable method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eleven antibiotics, including four sulfonamides, two tetracyclines, three fluoroquinolones, tylosin, and chloramphenicol in different vegetable samples using SPE-HPLC-MS/MS. Vegetable samples were extracted by acetonitrile added with hydrochloric acid (125:4, <em>v</em>/<em>v</em>). The extracts were enriched by circumrotating evaporation, and then cleaned through SPE on a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge. All compounds were determined on a C18 reverse phase column through HPLC-MS/MS. The mean recoveries of 11 antibiotics from spiked samples of vegetables ranged from 71.4% to 104.0%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.06–1.88 μg/kg and 0.20–6.25 μg/kg, respectively. The applicability of this technique demonstrated its good selectivity, high efficiency, and convenience by the analysis of 35 vegetable samples available from a vegetable greenhouse. Antibiotic residues in vegetables have aroused wide concern from the public. Therefore, standards should be established for antibiotic residues in vegetables to ensure food safety and human health.