Determination of dapsone in meat and milk by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Within the EU the use of dapsone (4,4-diaminodiphenylsulfone) is prohibited in food-producing animals and consequently it's included in the Annex IV of the Directive 90/2377/EC. A quantitative confirmatory method has been developed and validated according to the criteria defined in the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, for the determination of dapsone in meat and milk. Samples, after homogenization in alkaline conditions and organic solvent extraction, were purified on silica gel solid phase extraction cartridges. The eluate was evaporated and redissolved in mobile phase and was analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in positive electrospray ionisation (ESI) using deuterium labelled Sulphadimidine-d7 as internal standard. The calculated value for, decision limit, CCα is 0.12 μg kg−1, and the detection capability; CCβ value is 0.16 μg kg−1.