Abstract: An analytical method was established for rapid screening of 16 hormone residues in aquatic product by a modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF MS). The homogenized samples were extracted with acetonitrile containing 1% acetic acid, and the extract was desalted with sodium chloride and anhydrous magnesium sulfate, defatted with n-hexane and then cleaned-up on a C18 column. The analytes were separated on a BEH C18 column using a mixture of 0.1% formic acid and methanol as mobile phase by gradient elution and analyzed by MS using electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive ionization mode. The linear range was 1–100 μg/L for all compounds with correlation coefficients of more than 0.990 6. The recoveries of the hormones at three different spiked levels ranged from 53.6% to 135.2%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.93% to 10.9% in Penaeus vannamei, Pseudosciaena crocea, grass carp and swimming crab matrices. The limits of detection (LODs) (RSN = 3) were in the range of 0.2–2.7 μg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQs) (RSN = 10) for the analytes were 0.8–8.2 μg/kg. The method is simple, rapid, accurate and suitable for rapid screening of hormones in aquatic products samples.

Key words: ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF MS), aquatic product, QuEChERS, hormones