Simultaneous Determination of 21 Plant Growth Regulators in Various Fruits Using QuEChERS Coupled with an HPLC-MS/MS Technique Authors

This application note describes a method for the simultaneous detection of 21 plant growth regulators in fruits by QuEChERS combined with an HPLC-ESI-MS/MS technique based on our previous work [1]. The samples were initially extracted with acetonitrile containing 1 % acetic acid, followed by cleanup using C18 sorbent in the presence of magnesium sulfate. The resultant solution was separated on a C18 column using an Agilent Infinity UHPLC 1290 System, and detected with Agilent ESI-Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The matrix-matched external standard calibration approach was used for quantitative analysis. All 21 compounds showed a linear dynamic range of 2–3 orders of magnitude in the 0.10–1,000 μg/L range for the examined matrixes of apple, pear, strawberry, grape, and orange, with correlation coefficents above 0.99. The limits of detection (LOD) and the limits of quantification (LOQ) of the method ranged between 0.020 μg/kg–6.0 μg/kg and 0.10 μg/kg–15.0 μg/kg, respectively. For all the compounds, the average spiked recoveries ranged from 73.0 % to 111.0 %, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 6) were in the range of 3.0–17.2 %. The method is quick, easy, effective, sensitive, and accurate. It meets the requirements of the determination of these plant growth regulators in fruits.