Determination of heterocyclic aromatic amines in meat extracts by liquid chromatography–ion-trap atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

When protein-rich foods are processed under normal cooking conditions, heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) can be generated at a few parts per billion level. In this work, we have analyzed the HAAs present in a lyophilized meat extract by means of a simplified solid-phase extraction procedure. All the analytes were collected in a single extract with recoveries in the range of 45.6–75.2%, so the analysis time has been greatly reduced. Problems derived from the less exhaustive purification of the extract have been solved by using MS(ion trap) detection. The RSD for quantification ranged from 2.1% to 5.1% for run-to-run precision and from 5.2% to 11% for day-to-day precision. The limits of detection for standard solutions ranged from 20 to 150 pg injected. For the meat extract analyzed limits of detection from 0.9 to 11.2 ng g−1 were obtained. Results of the quantification are in agreement with those obtained using different clean-up procedures.