Rapid simultaneous analysis of ten biogenic amines in aquatic products through ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry

A method for accurate, reliable, ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) coupled with mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of biogenic amines (BAs) in aquatic foods was optimized and validated. The BAs were separated using an ACQUITY UPC BEH column, and gradient elution was performed using a mixture of supercritical CO 2 and methanol containing 0.2% ammonia at a rate of 1.2 mL/min. There stationary phases (BEH, HSS C18 SB and Torus 2-PIC) packed with sub-2-μm particles were selected, and the analytical conditions, including backpressure, flow rate and column temperature, were investigated to improve the separation. Under the optimized conditions, all 10 BAs were simultaneously separated and determined by UHPSFC-MS within 5 min. A good linear relationship ranging from 0.05 to 5 μg mL -1 was obtained for the BAs, and the detection limits of the BAs were 0.0010-0.0086 μg mL -1 (S/N=3). This strategy combines the high efficiency of ultra-efficient supercritical fluid chromatography with the high precision of mass spectrometry, enabling rapid detection of BAs in aquatic products. Furthermore, this method has the benefits of easy operation, rapid, remarkable separation, and avoidance of tedious sample derivatization. The separation technique for the analysis of the BAs not only satisfied the food safety and quality detection demands but also provided a technical approach for investigating the theoretical principle for the analysis of BAs.