Abstract: An ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of six illegal water-retaining drugs, atropine, lidocaine, procaine, anisodamine, scopolamine and salbutamol, in frozen meat. The samples were extracted with phosphate buffer, and the extract was cleaned up on an HLB cartridge. The analytes were detected in the multiple reaction monitoring mode and quantified by the external standard method. The results indicated that good linearity over the concentration range of 0.25–50 ng/mL was observed for all analytes with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.5 and 2.0 μg/kg, respectively. The average recoveries of the six drugs ranged from 78.07% to 96.76% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.4%–2.1% (n = 6). The method is sensitive, simple, rapid and accurate and can meet the requirements of practical analysis.

Key words: illegal drugs, water-retaining agent, ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)