Determination of beta 2-agonists in hair by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A method is described for the determination of the beta 2-agonists clenbuterol and salbutamol in hair. The method involves washing hair in sodium dodecyl hydrogensulphate solution, chemical digestion of the hair matrix in alkaline medium, solid-phase extraction, derivatization with methylboronic acid and analysis by gas chromatography/electron impact mass spectrometry in either the selected-ion monitoring or the scan mode. the effects of chemical digestion and of extraction on the recovery of the analytes were evaluated. Derivatization with methyl-boronic acid was compared with trimethylsilylation for GC/MS analysis of hair extracts, and was found to give mass spectra which showed more structural information with less chemical noise and better sensitivity. The proposed method was tested on real hair samples obtained from guinea pigs treated with growth-promoting doses of clenbuterol and salbutamol. Both compounds could be detected in hair of treated animals.