Liquid chromatography-atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry as a routine method for the analysis of mutagenic amines in beef extracts.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method using atmospheric-pressure chemical ionisation as interface was developed for the simultaneous determination of 14 heterocyclic aromatic amines and related compounds in beef extracts. The separation was performed on a conventional C18 column using a binary mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 50 mM ammonium acetate at pH 5.7, and elution was carried out in gradient mode. Several parameters influencing the mass spectra were optimized, and the effect of the variation of cone voltage on the mass spectra was studied. The [M+H]+ ions and some fragments produced in the source were observed in the mass spectra when several extraction voltages were applied. Quality parameters (run-to-run and day-to-day reproducibility, intervals of linearity, and limits of detection) were studied in the optimum working conditions. The method was used to analyze the heterocyclic amines present in a commercial beef extract. Therefore, a solid-phase extraction clean-up procedure was performed prior the LC-MS analysis due to the complexity of the sample and the compounds Glu-P-1, Harman, Norharman and A alpha C were identified in the samples at ppb levels and successfully confirmed using in-source fragmentation.