A high-performance liquid chromatography with dSPE clean-up method for determination of biogenic amines in ripened meat products

Biogenic amines (BAs) are nitrogen compounds formed during decarboxylation of amino acids with the participation of bacteria. A method based on high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) for the determination of eight biogenic amines in ripened meat products was developed and validated. Biogenic amines were extracted with 0.1 M hydrochloric acid and pre-column derivatized with dansyl chloride at 60 degrees C for 15 min, extracted with toluene, and dried under a stream of nitrogen. After reconstitution in acetonitrile, the extract was subjected to clean-up by dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) using Z-Sep+ sorbent. The method was validated with the BAs at three concentration levels: 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg. The limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 1.51 to 2.20 mg/kg, and limit of quantification (LOQ) was between 5.08 and 7.34 mg/kg. The obtained correlation coefficients (R-2) ranged from 0.9997 to 0.9999 for all BAs. The precision (RSDr) values were < 20% and the recovery values for all amines were in the satisfactory range of 70-120% The developed method was applied to the analysis of 39 ripened meat products samples as retailed in Poland.

Automated summary

A method based on HPLC-DAD was developed and validated for the determination of biogenic amines in ripened meat products. The method showed high accuracy and reproducibility, which is of great importance for food safety monitoring and control.