Determination of avermectins: A QuEChERS approach to the analysis of food samples

• A QuEChERS approach to extract avermectins from meat is proposed.
• Quantification is performed by LC–QqQ–MS/MS with ESI negative ionization.
• Meat samples from different species can be analyzed with a unique calibration curve.
• The method has been validated and applied to proficiency tests with good results.
• HRMS detection (Q-Orbitrap) provides excellent selectivity and sensitivity.

We present a simple method for extracting avermectines from meat, based on a QuEChERS approach followed by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to triple quadrupole (QqQ) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The compounds considered are ivermectin, abamectin, emamectin, eprinomectin, doramectin and moxidectin. The new method has been fully validated according to the requirements of European Decision 657/2002/CE (EU, 2002). The method is suitable for the analysis of avermectins at concentration as low as 2.5 μg kg−1, and allows high sample throughput. In addition, the detection of avermectins by high resolution mass spectrometry using a quadrupole-Orbritrap (Q-Orbitrap) hybrid instrument has been explored, and the target Selected Ion Monitoring data dependent MS/MS (t-SIM-dd MS/MS) mode has been found to provide excellent performance for residue determination of target analytes.