This paper presents an application of high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) for the analysis of 27 β-blockers and metabolites in milk powder. Homogenized milk power samples were extracted by acetonitrile and purified by using Oasis PRiME HLB solid-phase extraction cartridges. The Ascentis® C8 chromatographic column was used to separate the analytes. The quantification was achieved by using matrix-matched standard calibration curves with carazolol-d7 and propranolol-d7 as the internal standards. The results show an exceptional linear relationship with the concentrations of analytes over wide concentration ranges (0.5–500 μg kg−1) as all the fitting coefficients of determination r2 are > 0.995. All the limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) values were within the respective range of 0.2–1.5 μg kg−1 and 0.5–5.0 μg kg−1. Overall average recoveries were able to reach 66.1–100.4% with the intra- and inter-day variability under 10%. This method has been successfully applied to the screening of β-blockers and metabolites in commercial milk powders. At the same time, the corresponding characteristic fragmentation behavior of the 27 compounds was explored. The characteristic product ions were determined and applied to the actual samples screening.

A method for the simultaneous determination of 17 cephalosporinsin milk powder by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) has been developed. After dissolution in water, the homogenized milk powder samples were extracted with acetonitrile to remove impurities such as proteins and the extract was further purified by high-speed centrifugation at low temperature. A C8 chromatographic column was employed to separate the analytes. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed in Q Exactive Full-MS/dd-MS scan mode. The results revealed an excellent linear correlation over a wide range of analyte mass concentrations (5-200 μg/L) with coefficients of determination () greater than 0.99 in all cases. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) were in the range of 0.0060-0.014 μg/L and 0.71-4.62 μg/kg, respectively. The overall average recoveries were 69.6%-101.4% with RSDs<10%. This method presents the advantages of simple operation, good repeatability, and high resolution, being suitable for the qualitative and quantitative screening of 17 cephalosporin residues in infant formula milk powder.