In-House Validation of HPLC-MS/MS Methods for Detection and Quantification of Tetracyclines in Edible Tissues and Feathers of Broiler Chickens

For the detection of tetraciclines in feathers, muscle and liver, an internal protocol was designed for in-house validation of two methods, through high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric (HPLC-MS/MS) techniques. This protocol was based on the recommendation of the decision 2002/657/EC from the European Community as well as the food and drug administration (FDA) VICHGL49. Limit of detection (LOD) was set at 20 μg kg-1 and the limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 21.5 to 24.2, 21.2 to 21.6, and 25.0 to 27.7 μg kg-1 in feahers, muscle and liver samples, respectively, for all analytes. The calibrations curves show a coefficient of determination (R2) above 0.98, 0.99 and 0.96 for feathers, muscle and liver samples, respectively. Analyte recovery ranged from 92 to 108%. In conclusion, these methods can be deemed accurate and reliable, and their validation is a fundamental step to be performed in depletion studies on these matrices.