Determination of veterinary pharmaceuticals in poultry litter and soil by methanol extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals are emerging contaminants with potential risks to the environment and human health. A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method was developed for determination of the antimicrobials virginiamycin, monensin, salinomycin, narasin and nicarbazin in poultry litter and soil. This method involves methanol extraction and clean-up of extracts through glass microfibre filters, introduction of the extracts and separation of compounds on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB C8 column, and compound detection in a Quattro Micro Micromass spectrometer. For litter samples, Method Detection Limits ranged from 0.1–0.6 μg Kg^{− 1}, while Limits of Quantitation (LOQs) were 2, 1, 0.4, 1 and 2 μg Kg^{− 1} for virginiamycin, monensin, salinomycin, narasin and nicarbazin, respectively. For soil samples calculated LOQs were 2, 3, 1, 1, and 1 μg Kg^{− 1} for virginiamycin, monensin, salinomycin, narasin and nicarbazin, respectively. Application of the LC-MS-MS method for detection of veterinary pharmaceuticals in litter collected from commercial poultry farms showed that compounds were present at concentrations ranging from 10–11,000 μg Kg^{− 1}.

Keywords:

• Veterinary pharmaceuticals
• liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS-MS
• poultry litter
• antimicrobials

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Environment Canada and the authors are grateful for Environment Canadas financial support. We thank Gwenn Farrell for help with manuscript preparation and reviewers for review of the manuscript.

Notes

*Dry weight (freeze-dried);

**Not detected