The rapid determination of bromadiolone in liver and blood plasma by in-injector pyrolysis gas chromatography - Ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

The unintentional poisoning of off-target animals by bromadiolone, a second generation anticoagulant rodenticide, is an undesirable outcome requiring sensitive analytical methods. In this study, a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of bromadiolone in liver and blood plasma by means of gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry without need for derivatization was developed. The method is based on the in-injector pyrolysis of bromadiolone and subsequent gas chromatography coupled with ion trap tandem mass spectrometry with electron ionization. Sample preparation includes extraction with methanol, evaporation under nitrogen stream, and dissolution in toluene. The pyrolysis of bromadiolone was carried out in an injector at 390 °C. Chromatographic separation of the pyrolytical fragment of bromadiolone was achieved using a VF-5 ms column with helium as the mobile phase. Tandem in-time mass spectrometry of the separated pyrolytical fragment of bromadiolone was carried out using an ion trap mass spectrometer after electron ionization. Recovery ranged from 94 to 98%. The method showed good linearity up to 1000 μg kg−1 for liver and 1000 μg L−1 for plasma. The limit of detection was 0.38 μg kg−1 for liver and 0.26 μg L−1 for plasma. The developed method was used successfully in several animal poisoning cases.