Characterization and determination of isomers in plants using trace matrix solid phase dispersion via ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector and quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

• A novel application of trace MSPD using β-CD as sorbent is presented.
• The proposed method involves the use of UHPLC-UV, Q-TOF/MS and NMR.
• The innovative method was efficient and economic for isomers extraction.
• The method was applied to a determination of honeysuckle samples.

Here, a novel β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) based trace matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) method was developed to extract isomers from different honeysuckle samples using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography. The structures of the analytes were characterized and determined via quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. Under optimum conditions, 25 mg of sample was dispersed with 75 mg of β-CD, and 0.5 mL of methanol was used as the elution solvent. The proposed method produced a good linearity (r2 > 0.99) for the isomers, with limits of detection ranging from 1.62 to 3.33 ng/mL. The average recovery values that were obtained from analyzing the spiked samples were calculated to be in the range of 87.04–105.20%. Moreover, the trace MSPD method required less reagents and a shorter extraction time in comparison with the traditional pharmacopoeia method and other reported approaches. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of three real honeysuckle samples that were collected from different cultivated areas.