A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous determination of acid/alkaline phytohormones in grapes

A high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of five acid/alkaline phytohormones, i.e., indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), naphthylacetic acid (NAA), gibberellic acid (GA3) and isopentenyladenine (2IP), in grapes was developed. After optimization, the samples were extracted with methanol containing 1% formic acid and purified by Oasis HLB SPE cartridges. The analytes were separated on a Thermo Hypersil Gold column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.0 μm) with water and acetonitrile, then determined with Thermo tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in negative electro-spray ionization using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The established method was further validated by determining the linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9990), average recovery (82.5–105.4%), sensitivity (0.05–1.00 ng mL−1), precision (RSD ≤ 13.0%) and stability (RSD ≥ 82.0%). Finally, the application of the approach proposed to thirty grape samples convinced its desirable performance for rapid analysis of multiclass phytohormones, supporting its sufficient capability for multiresidue analyses or other analytical system targeting phytohormones in agriculture field.

► A rapid LC–MS/MS for simultaneous determination of acid/alkaline phytohormones was developed.
► The procedures for sample preparation were thoroughly optimized.
► The performances of linearity, sensitivity, precision and matrix effects were satisfactory.
► The method was proved to be capable of rapid multiresidue analysis of multiclass phytohormones.