Determination of chloramphenicol residues in aquatic products using immunoaffinity column cleanup and high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

A method based on HPLC with UV detection was developed for the quantitative determination of chloramphenicol (CAP) residues in aquatic products. The samples were extracted with ethyl acetate-ammonium hydroxide (98 + 2, v/v), followed by a cleanup step using an immunoaffinity column. The analytes were determined by HPLC-UV. Optimal conditions for the extraction and cleanup procedures are described. The linear regression equation was y = 91.47x - 8.60 with R = 0.9998 (y = peak area and x = CAP concentration) and showed a good reproducibility. The LOQ was 0.25 microg/kg for determining CAP spiked in the aquatic products. The mean recoveries of CAP from fish and shrimp samples fortified at 0.25-1.0 microg/kg were 88.7-93.1 and 92.0-97.3%, respectively; the repeatability RSDs were less than 8.1%. It was concluded that the method is simple, highly sensitive, and low cost for quantitatively measuring CAP residues in aquatic products. Analyte identification was confirmed by HPLC/MSIMS analysis.