Determination of sulfachloropyridazine residue levels in feathers from broiler chickens after oral administration using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

Several antimicrobials are routinely used by the poultry farming industry on their daily operations, however, researchers have found for some antimicrobials that their residues persist for longer periods in feathers than they do in edible tissues, and at higher concentrations, as well. But this information is not known for other classes of antimicrobials, such as the sulfonamides. Therefore, this work presents an accurate and reliable analytical method for the detection of sulfachloropyridazine (SCP) in feathers and edible tissues from broiler chickens. This method was also validated in-house and then used to study the depletion of sulfachloropyridazine in those matrices. The experimental group comprised 54 broiler chickens, who were raised under controlled conditions and then treated with a commercial formulation of 10% sulfachloropyridazine for 5 days. Samples were analyzed via LC-MS/MS, using (13)C(6)-sulfamethazine (SMZ-(13)C(6)) as an internal standard. Aromatic sulfonic acid solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges were used to clean up the samples. The Limit of Detection (LOD) for this method was set at 10 μg kg(-1) on feathers and liver; and at 5 μg kg(-1) on muscle. Within the range of 10–100 μg kg(-1), the calibration curves for all matrices presented a determination coefficient greater than 0.96. Our results show, with a 95% confidence level, that sulfachloropyridazine persisted in feathers for up to 55 days after ceasing treatment, and its concentrations were higher than in edible tissues. In consequence, to avoid re-entry of antimicrobial residues into the food-chain, we recommend monitoring and inspecting animal diets that contain feather derivatives, such as feathers meals, because they could be sourced from birds that might have been medicated with sulfachloropyridazine.