We developed a method for determination of imidacloprid and its metabolites 5-hydroxy imidacloprid, olefin imidacloprid, imidacloprid urea and 6-chloronicotinic acid in Procambarus clarkii (crayfish) tissues using quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Samples (plasma, cephalothorax, hepatopancrea, gill, intestine, and muscle) were extracted with acetonitrile containing 0.1% acetic acid and cleaned up using a neutral alumina column containing a primary secondary amine. The prepared samples were separated using reverse phase chromatography and scanned in the positive and negative ion multiple reaction-monitoring modes. Under the optimum experimental conditions, spiked recoveries for these compounds in P. clarkii samples ranged from 80.6 to 112.7% with relative standard deviations of 4.2 to 12.6%. The limits of detection were 0.02-0.5 μg·L-1, the limits of quantification were 0.05-2.0 μg·L-1 and the method of quantification was 0.05-2.0 μg·kg-1. The method is rapid, simple, sensitive and suitable for rapid determination and analysis of imidacloprid and its metabolites in P. clarkii tissues.
Keywords: 5-hydroxy imidacloprid; 6-chloronicotinic acid; HPLC-MS/MS; Imidacloprid; Imidacloprid urea; Metabolites; Procambarus clarkii; QuEChERS; olefin imidacloprid.