Simultaneous determination of 50 antibiotic residues in plasma by HPLC–MS/MS

Exposure to low doses of antibiotics in organisms may have long-term effects on host growth and brain neurochemicals, which are achieved by disrupting the composition and metabolism of gut flora. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the use and management of antibiotics to protect human health and the ecological environment. Here, we developed a method of detecting 50 antibiotic residues simultaneously in human plasma using HPLC-MS/MS. We optimized the sample pre-treatment method, chromatographic and MS parameters. The best elution buffer was 60 % acetonitrile, which ensured high recovery rate of antibiotics. The main seven kinds of antibiotics, including β-lactams, tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, chloramphenicol, sulfonamides, quinolones could be detected by this method. The average recovery rate was 67.25 %-129.03 %. Analytes have been detected with limit of detection (LOD) values from 0.1 ng ml^-1 to 5 ng ml^-1. In brief, the method is reliable and robust for rapid screening of antibiotic residues, which was suitable and efficient to monitor antimicrobial exposure.