Determination of hexabromocyclododecanes in infant formula by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

ObjectiveTo establish a method for the determination of hexabromocyclododecanes in infant formula using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS）.MethodsThe samples were dissolved in water，extracted with acetonitrile， and purified with enhanced matix removal lipid （EMR-Lipid） combined with QuEChERS dispersed adsorbent. The analytes were separated on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column （2.1×100 mm， 1.7 μm） with water and methanol/acetonitrile （50∶50， V/V） as mobile phases. The target compounds were analyzed by multiple reaction monitoring mode（MRM） and quantified by isotope dilution internal standard method in negative scanning mode.ResultsThe correlation coefficients （r） of three hexabromocyclododecanes were above 0.999 in the range of 0.5-50 μg/L. The detection limits and quantitative limits were in the range of 0.01-0.04 μg/kg and 0.03-0.13 μg/kg， respectively. The recoveries ranged from 92.1% to 100.2%， and the relative standard deviation were 1.2%-3.8%.ConclusionThe method is simple， accurate and sensitive， and can be used to detect hexabromocyclododecanes in infant formula.