This study aimed to develop a method for the determination of five neonicotinoid pesticides (acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam) in propolis samples. Two sample preparation methods were tested: solid-phase extraction (SPE) and quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS). The extracts were then analysed with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Because solid-phase extraction resulted in cleaner extracts and better recoveries, only the SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method was validated. The method was validated at two spiking levels (10 µg/L and 50 µg/L) in triplicate at each level. Except for clothianidin, we obtained satisfactory recoveries the other four pesticides (61 % – 101 %). Recoveries of clothianidin were 10 % at the lower and 20 % at the higher spiking level, respectively. Method repeatability was also good with a relative standard deviation from 5 % to 29 % at the lower spiking level and from 3 % to 13 % at the higher spiking level. The method also showed low limits of detection (0.2 – 4.4 µg/L) and quantification (0.8 – 14.7 µg/L). In order to compensate for the matrix effect, matrix-matched calibration was used. Based on matrix-matched calibration curves, good accuracy (relative error: 1.9 % – 10.4 %) and linearity were determined (R2 > 0.991) for all of the neonicotinoids tested. The validated SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method was used to analyse 30 propolis samples (18 raw propolis and 12 alcohol tinctures). The presence of some analytes (acetamiprid, imidacloprid and thiacloprid) were above limits of detection in 7 samples, however their conectrations were lower than limits of quantification for optimised analytical method.
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