Distribution and elimination of levamisole in eggs and tissues after oral administration to laying hens, determined by LC-MS/MS.

Levamisole was administered to laying hens, and concentrations in eggs and tissues (thigh muscle, breast muscle, liver and kidney) were determined by a newly developed liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method, which allowed trace level quantification of levamisole. The adopted analytical method showed good sensitivity, repeatability and percentage of recovery from spiked matrices. Maximum concentrations of levamisole were found on the first day after the administration (531.1 µg/kg in liver, 164.3 µg/kg in egg yolk, 130.7 µg/kg in kidney, 78.0 µg/kg in breast muscle, 70.7 µg/kg in thigh muscle and 64.0 µg/kg in egg white), after which there is a decline. The compound was rapidly eliminated from eggs, with a half-life of 1.3 days. Elimination appeared to be slower in thigh muscle (3.5 days), breast muscle (3.4 days) and liver (3.3 days). According to this experiment, the levamisole withdrawal periods calculated for eggs, liver, kidney, breast muscle and thigh muscle in laying hens were 14.1, 6.1, >4.0, 14.5 and 13.0 days, respectively. The longest time for levamisole residues to be completely released from tissues was seen in liver samples (37.4 days), followed by thigh muscle, breast muscle and kidney. Elimination from eggs was fastest (16.4 days for levamisole residues to drop below the method quantification limit).

Validation of a multi-residue enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for qualitative screening of corticosteroids in liver, urine and milk.

A rapid and sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied for the qualitative screening analysis of dexamethasone, betamethasone, flumethasone, and prednisolone in milk and urine, and dexamethasone, flumethasone and prednisolone in liver samples at levels corresponding to the European Union maximum residue limit (MRL), or at required performance levels (RPLs) for substances for which there is no established MRL. Method validation was performed according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC criteria established for qualitative screening methods. In this regard, the following parameters were determined: detection capability (CCß), specificity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), recovery, within-laboratory reproducibility, linearity and ruggedness. LODs were 0.2, 1.2 and 0.6 µg kg(-1) in milk, urine and liver samples, and LOQ values were 0.3, 1.2 and 1.4 µg kg(-1) in milk, urine and liver, respectively. Recoveries from spiked samples ranged from 68% to 131% for dexamethasone, from 57% to 120% for flumethasone, from 60% to 155% for betamethasone, and from 23% to 32% for prednisolone, with a coefficient of variation (CV) between 1.6% and 21.2%. The CCß value was below the MRL/RPL for all examined matrices. Moderate variations of some critical factors in the sample pre-treatment for liver and milk samples were deliberately introduced for ruggedness evaluation and did not result in any negative effects on corticosteroid detection. The proposed method is suitable for qualitative screening analysis of corticosteroids in the above-mentioned food in conformity with the current European Union performance requirements.

Validation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for qualitative screening of neomycin in muscle, liver, kidney, eggs and milk.

A rapid and sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for the qualitative screening analysis of neomycin in food of animal origin (muscle, liver, kidney, eggs and milk) at levels corresponding to the European Union maximum residue limit (MRL) set for this substance. The method validation was performed according to the criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC established for qualitative screening methods. In this regard, the following parameters were determined: detection capability (CCß), specificity, detection limit (LOD), quantification limit (LOQ), recovery, precision, linearity and ruggedness. LODs ranged from 5.7 microg kg(-1) in kidney to 29.3 microg kg(-1) in milk; LOQs ranged from 11.4 microg kg(-1) in kidney to 59.7 microkg(-1) in eggs. The recoveries from spiked samples at the MRL, half the MRL and double the MRL levels ranged from 65.8% to 122.8%, with a coefficient of variation (CV) between 5.9% and 28.6%. The CCß value was less than the MRL for all examined matrices. Moderate variations of some critical factors in the sample pretreatment for muscle, milk and eggs were deliberately introduced for ruggedness evaluation and had a slight but not statistically significant effect on method performance. The proposed method is suitable for qualitative screening analysis of neomycin in the above-mentioned food in conformity with current European Union performance requirements.