A strategy for untargeted screening of macrolides and metabolites in bass by liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the non-target screening of macrolides and metabolites in bass (Lateolabrax) was developed using an automated on-line extraction procedure followed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC Q-Orbitrap). The estimated performance characteristics were satisfied, complying with the requirements of the guidelines specified in European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The decision limit ranged from 0.12 μg kg−1 to 3.61 μg kg−1, and detection capability ranged between 0.20 μg kg−1 and 6.02 μg kg−1. Precision in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD) was under 14% for all compounds, and the extraction recoveries ranged from 81% to 107%. Finally, the method was applied to ten different commercially important bass species and confirmed the presence of ten macrolides and metabolites. Five non-target compounds of robenidine, lincomycin hydrochloride, thiacloprid, fenbendazole, and thiabendazole were elucidated in the untargeted screening.