Trouble-free Food Testing - Technologies to improve uptime and productivity

Significance of the Topic

Globalization of the food supply chain and increasing safety regulations demand analytical methods that provide high sensitivity, robustness and throughput for accurate monitoring of nutritional components and contaminants in diverse food matrices.

Study Objectives and Overview

• Assess current needs and best practices for liquid chromatography (LC) and LC–MS in food testing
• Review advances in column technologies and sample preparation techniques
• Illustrate a complete workflow for detecting botanical insecticides in fish
• Present tools and strategies to enhance laboratory uptime and productivity

Methodology

• Sample Preparation: QuEChERS extraction followed by dispersive SPE; alternatives include SPE, liquid–liquid extraction and filtration for particulate or lipid removal
• Chromatography Fundamentals: Selection of particle size, bonded phase chemistry, mobile phase pH adjustment and gradient design to optimize retention and selectivity for polar and ionizable analytes
• Column Technology: Use of superficially porous Poroshell 120 columns (2.7 µm) to achieve high efficiency comparable to sub-2 µm phases at significantly reduced backpressure
• LC–MS/MS Configuration: Agilent Infinity 1290 UHPLC paired with Agilent 6460 Triple Quadrupole MS (JetStream ESI+), Poroshell 120 HILIC 2.1×100 mm column, 10 mM ammonium formate (pH 3.0)/ACN gradient, 0.7 mL/min flow rate

Used Instrumentation

• Agilent Infinity 1290 UHPLC system
• Agilent 6460 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer with JetStream ESI+
• Poroshell 120 column family: EC-C18, SB-AQ, Phenyl-Hexyl, HILIC chemistries
• QuEChERS sample preparation kits and dispersive SPE packets
• In-line filters and Fast Guard columns to protect analytical columns

Main Results and Discussion

• Poroshell 120 columns deliver efficiencies nearing sub-2 µm phases at 40–50% lower pressure, enabling faster workflows on conventional and UHPLC systems
• Adjustment of mobile phase pH and bonded phase selection enhanced retention and resolution for ionizable compounds
• HILIC mode effectively retained and separated nicotine, cotinine and anabasine in fish, achieving LOD of 1 ng/g and LOQ of 5 ng/g with excellent linearity (R² > 0.997)
• Method precision and accuracy: recoveries ranged from 78% to 128%, with RSDs below 7% across low to high concentration levels
• Implementation of guard columns and in-line filters significantly extended column lifetime, reducing maintenance interruptions and costs

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Accelerated analysis times and higher sample throughput for routine food safety testing
• Enhanced sensitivity for multiresidue screening in complex matrices
• Cost savings through reduced solvent consumption and fewer column replacements
• Seamless method transfer across HPLC and UHPLC platforms

Future Trends and Potential Applications

• Development of new superficially porous particles with extended pH stability and selectivity
• Integration of automated and online sample preparation workflows to further increase efficiency
• Advanced software and data-driven tools for expedited column and sample prep selection
• Broader adoption of HILIC and high-pH chemistries for analysis of highly polar food contaminants and metabolites

Conclusion

By combining streamlined sample preparation approaches with advanced superficially porous column technologies and UHPLC–MS/MS detection, laboratories can achieve fast, robust and highly sensitive food analyses that meet evolving regulatory requirements and operational demands.