An ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (UHPLC-FLD) method for simultaneous determination of albendazole and its three metabolites in poultry eggs

Albendazole (ABZ) is widely used in the treatment of animal intestinal parasitic infections. This study has established a method of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection for the simultaneous determination of ABZ and its three metabolites (albendazole, albendazole sulfone, albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole-2-aminosulfone) in poultry (chicken, duck, and goose) eggs. Good linearity was shown under the optimized conditions with the determination coefficient (≥ 0.9994). The limits of detection (LOD) were 0.3–4.6 µg/kg, whereas the limits of quantification (LOQ) were 1.0–12.9 µg/kg. The recoveries of ABZ and its three metabolites ranged from 80.5% to 98.6%, while relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.2–4.8%, and all target analytes could be detected within 6 min. The method was demonstrated to be sensitive, selective, and quick for the detection of ABZ and its three metabolites.