Retention studies of acrylamide for the design of a robust liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for food analysis

A wide range of solid phases for SPE (solid-phase extraction) (n = 14) and HPLC (n = 9) were compared regarding the chromatographic retention of acrylamide. For SPE, a hydroxylated polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer phase (ENV+) gave the strongest retention. Twenty millilitre of water per gram solid phase could be passed with less than 5% loss of acrylamide from the column, thus enabling significant enrichment of food extracts. Other polymer phases gave varying degrees of retention, while silica bonded phases gave low retention. For HPLC, columns were evaluated both in reversed-phase and aqueous normal-phase (hydrophilic interaction chromatography) modes. The best retention was obtained with a phase comprising porous graphitic carbon (Hypercarb), giving a k-value of 4 with water as the mobile phase. Based on these investigations, a method for analysis of acrylamide in food using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was designed to meet the demands of a collaborative validation trial.A comparative investigation of solid phases has not been published earlier. Thus, the paper should provide a base for new method developments regarding clean-up, enrichment and chromatography of acrylamide. In addition, the detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) method, as used in a collaborative validation trial, is provided as an electronic supplement (www.elsevier.com).