Qualitative and Quantitative Drug residue analyses: Florfenicol in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and supermarket meat by liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry

• Tissues florfenicol residue levels were lower than established maximum residual limit.
• Florfenicol in white-tailed deer tissue was optimized on a HESI and APCI probes.
• This is a reliable analysis of florfenicol amine in white-tailed deer tissues.

A method for confirmation and detection of Florfenicol amine residues in white-tailed deer tissues was developed and validated in our laboratory. Tissue samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and cleaned up on sorbent (Chem-elut) cartridges. Liguid chromatography (LC) separation was achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse plus C18 column with gradient elution using a mobile phase composed of ammonium acetate in water and methanol at a flow rate of 300 μL/min. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out using liquid chromatography − heated electrospray ionization(HESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)-tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) interface. The limits of detection (LODs) for HESI and APCI probe were 1.8 ng/g and 1.4 ng/g respectively. Limits of quantitation (LOQs) for HESI and APCI probe were 5.8 ng/g and 3.4 ng/g respectively. Mean recovery values ranged from 79% to 111% for APCI and 30% to 60% for HESI. The validated method was used to determine white-tailed deer florfenicol tissue residue concentration 10-days after exposure. Florfenicol tissue residues concentration ranged from 0.4 to 0.6 μg/g for liver and 0.02-0.05 μg/g for muscle and a trace in blood samples. The concentration found in the tested edible tissues were lower than the maximum residual limit (MRL) values established by the federal drug administration (FDA) for bovine tissues. In summary, the resulting optimization procedures using the sensitivity of HESI and APCI probes in the determination of florfenicol in white-tailed deer tissue are the most compelling conclusions in this study, to the extent that we have applied this method in the evaluation of supermarket samples drug residue levels as a proof of principle.