Laser induced fluorescence coupled to capillary electrophoresis for the determination of fluoroquinolones in foods of animal origin using molecularly imprinted polymers

A method for the simultaneous determination of four fluoroquinolones of veterinary use (ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, enrofloxacin and sarafloxacin) in two complex matrixes, such as bovine raw milk and pig kidney, has been established and validated. The method is based on the use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with a very sensitive detection mode, such as laser induced fluorescence (LIF) detection, due to the fact the all the compounds selected show native fluorescence. In order to achieve high selectivity in the sample treatment procedure, a commercially available molecularly imprinted polymer has been used for the solid phase extraction of the analytes. Once the retention and elution processes were optimized, the final extract was analyzed by CE-LIF using a 325 nm He–Cd laser. Optimum separation was obtained in a 70 cm × 75 μm capillary using a 125 mM phosphoric acid solution at pH 2.8 with 36% methanol as background electrolyte. The method provided very low detection limits, ranging from 0.17 to 0.98 μg/kg for milk and 1.10 to 10.5 μg/kg for kidney, with acceptable precision and satisfactory recoveries.