Optimization of solid-phase-extraction cleanup and validation of quantitative determination of eugenol in fish samples by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

This paper describes a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of eugenol in fish samples, based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS). Samples were extracted with acetonitrile, and then cleanup was performed using C18 solid-phase extraction (SPE). The determination of eugenol was achieved using an electron-ionization source (EI) in multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode. Under optimized conditions, the average recoveries of eugenol were in the range 94.85-103.61 % and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower than 12.0 %. The limit of detection (LOD) was 2.5 μg kg(-1) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 5.0 μg kg(-1). This method was applied to an exposure study of eugenol residue in carp muscle tissues. The results revealed that eugenol was nearly totally eliminated within 96 h. Graphical Abstract Flow diagram for sample pretreatment.