A novel application of ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry for the rapid quantification of acrylamide in coffee

Abstract

We developed a simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive method for the determination of acrylamide (AA) in coffee based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The AA in coffee was simply extracted with water and then defatted with dichloromethane. After that, concentration and purification were achieved through solid-phase extraction techniques. The calibration curve for AA showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0.5–500 ng/mL, with a correlation coefficient (r) in excess of 0.999. Furthermore, our method exhibited high precision, as evidenced by intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation of less than 5.7 % and 6.3 %, respectively. The analytical accuracy for AA quantification ranged from 98.0 % to 105.2 %, and the limit of detection and limit of quantification for AA in coffee were determined to be 1.5 μg/kg and 5.0 μg/kg, respectively. In addition, the applicability of the proposed method was assessed through its implementation in the quantification of AA in both roasted and instant coffee. The results prove that the method is simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive, making it as an excellent option for the detection of AA in coffee.