Rapid and sensitive method for analysis of nitrate in meat samples using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of nitrate in meat samples. Selected ion reaction (SIR) mode was adopted to identify and quantify the nitrate. Chromatographic analyses were performed on a BEH C-18 column with a mobile phase consisting of a surfactant (Cetylpyridinium chloride) and acetonitrile in equal ratio (50/50, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL min(-1). The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of the developed method was found to be 0.0599 and 0.1817 mg kg(-1), respectively. The linearity of the proposed method was checked in the concentration range of 0.5-10 mg kg(-1) with an excellent correlation coefficient (r) of 0.997. The recovery of the nitrate in the meat samples were in the range of 98.02-98.99%. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.