Ion-paired extraction of cephalosporins in acetone prior to their analysis by capillary liquid chromatography in environmental water and meat samples

Ion-pair extraction of cephalosporins from aqueous solution into acetone by the addition of ammonium sulfate to a 1:2 (v/v) acetone–water solvent was carried out followed by their determination using reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography. The analytes included are cephoperazone, cefquinome, cephalexin, cephapirin, cephaloniun, cephamandole, cephazolin and cephadroxile. In order to form the ion-pair, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was selected as cationic ion-pairing agent at a concentration of 0.9 mM using 10 mM phosphate buffer at pH 8 as the optimum condition for the aqueous solution. The applied methodology, named salting-out assisted liquid/liquid extraction (SALLE) involves the use of 1.25 g of ammonium sulfate as salting-out agent. paration of cephalosporins using a Luna C18 (150 mm×0.3 mm, 5 µm, 100 Å) column was achieved under the following conditions: a gradient program combining solvent A (0.1% formic acid in water, pH 4) and solvent B (acetonitrile–methanol (50:50, v/v)), at a flow rate of 20 µl min−1, column temperature 35 °C and injection volume 7 µl with UV detection at 250 nm. The limits of quantification for the studied compounds were between 4.3 and 22.7 μg/L for water samples and 4.1 and 73.3 μg/kg in the case of beef samples, lower than the maximum residue limits permitted by the EU for this kind of food. The developed methodology has demonstrated its suitability for the analysis of these widely applied antibiotics in environmental water and meat samples, including beef and pork muscle, with high sensitivity, precision and satisfactory recoveries.