Rapid and Sensitive Determination of Residues of Triphenylmethane Dyes and Their Metabolites in Animal Tissues by LC–MS/MS

This article describes a fast, sensitive, selective, and robust method for determining triphenylmethane dyes and their metabolites in animal tissue samples by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The separation of analytes from matrix-interfering components was performed using a C18 column with a mobile phase composition of water and methanol containing 0.1% formic acid and 5 mM ammonium formate as additives in both phases. To minimize sample matrix effects and analyte loss during sample preparation, extracted-matrix calibration in combination with isotope dilution was used for analyte quantification. There were two MS/MS transitions selected for each analyte for analyte confirmation, further enhancing the method’s selectivity and accuracy. The method was validated using salmon and chicken tissue samples.