Confirmation of moxidectin residues in cattle fat by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Moxidectin, a potent new endo- and ectoparasitic agent, is determined in cattle tissues by liquid chromatography (LC) with fluorescence detection. The original confirmatory method for moxidectin in cattle fat, the target tissue for regulatory purposes, was LC with mass spectrometry (MS) using thermospray (TSP) ionization and selected ion monitoring. As newer ionization techniques for LC/MS made TSP obsolete and with the availability of a new generation of benchtop LC/MS instrumentation, the confirmation of moxidectin in cattle fat was re-evaluated. The ionization techniques of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization versus electrospray ionization, the detection techniques of single-stage MS versus tandem MS, and the instrumentation of ion trap versus quadrupole were investigated. The final confirmatory method was based on full-scan single-stage MS. Even with full-scan detection, the analysis required at least 10-fold less extract than the original TSP method. The applicability of this new confirmatory method was demonstrated on both ion trap and quadrupole instruments.