Rapid determination of endogenous cytokinins in plant samples by combination of magnetic solid phase extraction with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (Fe3O4/SiO2/P(AMPS-co-EGDMA)) copolymer was prepared and used as a magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) medium for recovery of endogenous cytokinins (CKs) from plant extracts. This magnetic porous polymer was characterized by electron microscopy, nitrogen sorption experiments, elemental analysis and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy. It was demonstrated to have high extraction capacity toward CKs in plants due to its specificity, surface area and porous structure. Coupled with hydrophilic interaction chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC–MS/MS), a rapid, simple, and effective MSPE–HILIC–MS/MS analytical method for the quantitative analysis of endogenous CKs in Oryza sativa (O. sativa) roots was successfully established. Good linearities were obtained for all CKs investigated with correlation coefficients (R2) > 0.9975. The results showed that LODs (S/N = 3) were ranged from 0.18 to 3.65 pg mL−1. Reproducibility of the method was obtained with intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 16.1% and the recoveries in plant samples ranged from 72.8% to 115.5%. Finally, the MSPE–HILIC–MS/MS method was applied to several plant samples, and the amounts of endogenous CKs in O. sativa roots, leaves and Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) were successfully determined.