A rapid direct solvent extraction method for the extraction of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone from irradiated ground beef patties using acetonitrile.

The amount of irradiated beef in the U.S. market is growing, and a reliable, rapid method is needed to detect irradiated beef and quantify the irradiation dose. The official analytical method (BS EN 1785 2003) that has been adopted by the European Union is time consuming. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid method for the analysis of 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB) in irradiated beef. A 5 g sample of commercially irradiated ground beef patty (90/10) was extracted with n-hexane using a Soxhlet apparatus or with acetonitrile via direct solvent extraction. The Soxhlet hexane extract was evaporated to dryness, and the sample was dissolved in a mixture of ethyl acetate and acetonitrile (1:1). The defatted extract was purified with a 1 g silica cartridge. Another 5 g aliquot of the same patty was mixed with 50 mL acetonitrile and either blended for 1 min with a hand blender or crushed for 10 min with a glass rod. The extraction procedure was repeated 3 times, and the acetonitrile was collected and evaporated to dryness. Eluants from both methods were concentrated under nitrogen and injected into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The 2-DCB concentration in the commercial samples was 0.031 +/- 0.0026 ppm (n = 5) for the Soxhlet method and 0.031 +/- 0.0025 ppm (n = 10) for direct solvent extraction. Recovery of 2-DCB from spiked beef samples in the direct solvent extraction method was 93.2 +/- 9.0% (n = 7). This study showed that the direct solvent extraction method is simple and as efficient and reproducible as the Soxhlet method.