Simultaneous quantitative determination of Sudan dyes using liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure photoionization-tandem mass spectrometry

Atmospheric pressure photoionization-tandem mass spectrometry (APPI-MS/MS) method has been developed for quantitative determination of Sudan I to IV dyes. This study demonstrates the applicability of a simple isocratic normal phase HPLC method using isopropanol (0.3%) in n-hexane as the mobile phase for the separation of these dyes. A simple extraction procedure using n-hexane has been applied for the extraction of these dyes from spiked samples of chilli powder and tomato sauce. The quantitative determination of Sudan I to IV is obtained from the spiked tomato sauce and chilli powder samples by external standard method under single reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. The study includes a detailed investigation on LOD, LOQ, linearity and recovery of Sudan I to IV dyes. The LOD ranged from 5-18 mu g/l and LOQ ranged from 10-24 mu g/l The present method can be a powerful analytical tool for the simultaneous quantitative determination of Sudan dyes present in food products. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.