DETERMINATION OF CLENBUTEROL RESIDUES BY LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ELECTROSPRAY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

The application of electrospray ionization to the mass spectrometric determination of clenbuterol was investigated. Using electrospray, the energy of the ions extracted into the vacuum system can be controlled and, therefore, collisionally activated dissociations (with residual gas) can be induced in the high-pressure region of the electrospray ionization source. According to the energy thus conferred to the ions, the fragmentation of the molecule can be readily controlled. The influence of instrumental parameters on the fragmentation of clenbuterol was studied. Some results are presented that illustrate the potential of electrospray ionization for the mass spectrometric determination of clenbuterol. The sensitivity of the method is discussed, and preliminary results on a biomedical application are presented.