Efficient and sensitive detection of residues of nine coccidiostats in egg and muscle by liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

We present a method based on electrospray liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) for determining in muscle and eggs the following nine coccidiostats: halofuginone, diclazuril, dinitrocarbanilide (the main metabolite of nicarbazin), robenidine, monensin, lasalocid, narasin, salinomycin, and maduramicin. Dinitrocarbanilide-d8, nigericin, and diclazuril-bis were used as internal standards. The method uses extraction in acetonitrile followed by a clean-up on an SiOH solid-phase extraction column. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation was performed on a Purospher® C18 column (125 mm × 3 mm i.d.) protected by a guard column, the mobile phase being a water–acetonitrile gradient (each gradient component containing 0.1% formic acid) at a flow rate of 1 ml min−1. For unequivocal identification of each analyte, two ions were detected and chosen for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Validation was carried out on spiked muscle and egg samples. The method described meets all the criteria of Decision 2002/657/EC and is easy to use in routine analysis. Validation results are presented with the measured CCα and CCβ values. This whole method allows extraction and analysis of up to 24 samples per day.