ANALYTICAL POCEDURE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF LINCOMYCIN IN HONEY BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY

A reliable and sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry analytical method has been developed for the determination of lincomycin in honey samples. After extraction with phosphate buffer by ultrasound, the extracted solution was subjected to the polymeric solid-phase extraction cartridge to remove endogenous compounds. The analysis was carried out on a triple-quadropule tandem mass spectrometer in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode via electrospray interface operated in positive ionisation modes. The procedure was validated in accordance with the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The mean recovery of the analyte was 80%, with the corresponding intra- and inter-day variation less than 10% and 15%, respectively. Decision limits (CC alpha) and detection capability (CC beta) were 5.60 and 6.11 mu g kg(-1) respectively.