Screening, recognition and quantitation of salbutamol residues in ham sausages by molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet detection

A highly selective molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) coupled with liquid chromatography–ultraviolet detection was developed for the determination of salbutamol (SAL) in ham sausages. New molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized with phenylephrine as dummy template and it revealed good affinity to SAL in methanol–acetonitrile system. Adsorption capacity of the MIPs was evaluated by dynamic adsorption experiments. The MIPs were used as SPE sorbent for the selective clean-up and pre-concentration of SAL in ham sausage samples. The results showed that the matrix compounds presented in ham sausage samples could be removed effectively and the recoveries of SAL at three spiked levels were ranged from 82.6 to 100.5% with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of less than 3.6%. This method is simple and sensitive, and is therefore an alternative tool to the existing methods for analyzing residual SAL in biological samples.

► A simple and rapid MISPE–HPLC method for determination of salbutamol in ham sausages.
► The new MIPs were obtained by phenylephrine as dummy template in methanol–acetonitrile solution.
► Rapid screening of salbutamol in ham sausages, while interferences from milk matrix were eliminated.
► Extraction efficiency was markedly increased with reduced equilibrium time.
► This method improved the selectivity and eliminated the effect of template leakage on quantitative analysis.