Determination of Hydroxylated Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Chinese Aquatic Products by LC-MS/MS

In this reported work, a sensitive and reliable method for detecting 11 hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) was established by a combination of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The aquatic products (mainly crayfish and grass carp) from 12 cities in China's HuBei province were examined for the presence of the target OH-PBDEs. The analytical process involved first extracting the OH-PBDEs from the crayfish and grass carp using a PLE, followed by purification using gel permeation chromatography. To eliminate the interference from matrix, isotopic dilution was used in the quantitative analysis. Compared with the existing methods, OH-PBDEs were determined without a need for derivatizing, and it was more efficient and quicker. The condition of extraction and cleanup were also optimized. Experimental results showed that the proposed method exhibited a low detection limit of 0.04-0.2 μg/kg, with a wide linearity range 1-400 ng/L and a good linear correlation coefficient (r2 > 0.990) using this method. These results indicated the steadiness of the established method has the advantages of high sensitivity and facile sample preparation without matrix interference.