Simultaneous determination of albendazole and its metabolites in fish muscle tissue by stable isotope dilution ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid, specific, and sensitive method utilizing ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was developed and validated to determine albendazole, albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole sulfone, and albendazole 2-aminosulfone in fish muscle tissue. The fish samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, then the organic phase was evaporated to dryness, and the residue was reconstituted in methanol-water solution and cleaned up by n-hexane. Reversed-phase separation of target compounds was achieved using a BEH C18 column and a gradient consisting of 0.2% (v/v) formic acid and methanol. Tandem mass spectrometry analyses were performed on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer. In the whole procedure, the isotope-labeled internal standards were used to correct the matrix effect and variations associated with the analysis. The method was validated with respect to linearity, specificity, accuracy, and precision. The method exhibited a linear response from 0.1 to 20 ng mL(-1) (r(2) > 0.9985). The limit of quantitation for albendazole (ABZ), albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO), albendazole sulfone (ABZSO(2)), and albendazole 2-aminosulfone (ABZ-2-NH(2)SO(2)) was 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, and 0.2 ng g(-1), respectively. The mean recoveries of ABZ, ABZSO, ABZSO(2), and ABZ-2-NH(2)SO(2) spiked at a level of 0.2-5.0 ng g(-1) were 95.3-113.7%, and the relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day measurements were less than 6.38%. The method was later successfully applied to the determination of albendazole and its three metabolites in 60 fish samples collected from local markets.