Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) as a multi-residue extraction procedure for beta-agonists in bovine liver tissue.

A supercritical fluid extraction procedure has been developed for the extraction of beta-agonists in bovine liver samples. The method is suitable for compounds of different beta-agonist classes: the substituted aniline-type compounds (e.g. clenbuterol) and the phenolic-type compounds (e.g. salbutamol), including conjugated forms of the latter. The developed procedure involves a combination of supercritical fluid extraction with enzyme immunoassay for the determination of clenbuterol and salbutamol residues at the low ppb level. Addition of methanol modifier and removal of sample moisture are necessary for the extraction of more polar analytes such as salbutamol. Method validation incorporating intra- and inter-assays was carried out on fortified liver tissue and showed good recovery and low variation (RSD < 15%). An enzyme hydrolysis procedure was incorporated into the method for the deconjugation of conjugated residues. The developed procedure was shown to be successful for the determination of both clenbuterol and salbutamol in incurred liver tissue.