Development of QuEChERS based on the Z-Sep plus and DLLME method for analysis of PBDEs in chicken eggs by GC-MS/MS

A sensitive, straightforward, and environmentally sustainable method was developed and validated for the quantification of 13 PBDEs in chicken eggs using gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The QuEChERS approach, combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), was applied for sample preparation. Egg samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified using Z-Sep + adsorbent. Tetrachloroethane was selected as the extraction solvent for the DLLME step. All PBDEs exhibited strong linearity, with R > 0.999 within the range of 0.20-10.0 ng/mL, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 10.0 pg/g. Apparent recoveries of PBDEs ranged from 85.2 % to 105.7 %. A total of 119 chicken eggs were analyzed using the developed method. BDE-47 and BDE-99 showed relatively high detection rates of 38.6 % and 24.4 %, respectively. The hazard quotient (HQ) values for BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-153 congeners remained well below 1.0, indicating no significant health risk from egg consumption.