Determination of flubendiamide in honey at trace levels by using solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

- Flubendiamide was analyzed in honey by LC-MS/MS for the first time.
- The proposed extraction method (SPE-C18 sorbent) has proven to be efficient.
- Matrix had an influence (ion enhancement) on ESI-MS/MS signal for heather honey.
- Low LOQs were obtained in all cases (<0.7 µg/kg).
- Flubendiamide was not detected in any of the analyzed honey samples.

In this study, a new method has been developed to determine flubendiamide in honey using liquid chromatography coupled to a selective mass spectrometry detector (quadrupole-time-of-flight). An efficient sample treatment involving a solid phase extraction with a C18 sorbent was proposed (average analyte recoveries were between 94 and 104%). Chromatographic analysis (9 min) was performed on a C18 column (Gemini C18, 50 × 2.0 mm, 3 µm, 110 Å). The mobile phase consisted of water and acetonitrile, with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min in gradient elution mode. The method was fully validated in terms of selectivity, limits of detection and quantification, matrix effect, linearity, trueness and precision. Low limits of detection and quantification were obtained, ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 µg/kg and 0.4 to 0.6 µg/kg, respectively. The method was applied to analyze flubendiamide in honey from different botanic origins (multifloral, rosemary and heather).