Determination of tilmicosin residues in cow and sheep milk by liquid chromatography

This method was developed and validated to detect and quantitate tilmicosin residues in cow milk over a range of 0.010-10 microg/mL, and in sheep milk over a range of 0.025-0.5 microg/mL. The procedure involves extracting the milk sample with acetonitrile and using a C18 cartridge to perform a solid-phase extraction cleanup of the extract. A reversed-phase gradient liquid chromatography method with detection at 280 nm is used to separate the tilmicosin from matrix components in a 30 min run time. The limit of quantitation of the method is 0.010 microg/mL for cow milk, and 0.025 microg/mL for sheep milk. Average percentage recoveries for milk samples ranged from 82 to 94%. Percentage relative standard deviation values ranged from 3.1 to 17.2%.