Silver modified magnetic carbon nanotubes composite as a selective solid phase extractor for preconcentration and determination of trace mercury ions in water solution

A magnetic composite of silver/iron oxides/carbon nanotubes (Ag/Fe₃O₄/CNTs) was synthesized and used as an adsorbent for the preconcentration of mercury ions in water solutions at room temperature (25°C) in this study. The silver nanoparticles were supported on the magnetic CNTs. The modification enabled the composite had not only a high adsorption capacity for mercury ions (Hg²⁺) but also the magnetic isolation properties. A fast, sensitive, and simple method was successfully developed for the preconcentration and determination of trace amount of Hg²⁺ in water using the synthesized nanocomposite as adsorbent. The mercury concentration was determined by an atomic fluorescence spectrometer (AFS). The experimental conditions such as pH value, extraction temperature, extraction time, sample volume, eluent composition and concentration, sorbent amount, and coexisting ions were investigated for the optimization. A 500 mL of sample volume resulted in a preconcentration factor of 125. When a 200 mL of sample was employed, the limit of detection for Hg²⁺ was as low as 0.03 ng mL^?1with relative standard deviation of 4.4% at 0.1 ng mL^?1 (n = 7). The ease of synthesis and separation, the good adsorption capacity, and the satisfactory recovery will possibly make the composite an attractive adsorbent for the preconcentration of ultratrace Hg²⁺ in waters.     

Nonextractive Trace Level Simultaneous Determination of Mercury(II) and Zinc(II) in Environmental Samples with 2‐(5‐Bromo‐2‐pyridylazo)‐5‐diethylaminophenol and Cetylpyridinium Chloride

Abstract

A simple, rapid, selective, and sensitive method for the derivative spectrophotometric determination of Hg(II) and its simultaneous determination in the presence of Zn(II) using 2‐(5‐bromo‐2‐pyridylazo)‐5‐diethylaminophenol in the presence of cetylpyridinium chloride, a cationic surfactant, has been developed. The molar absorption coefficient and analytical sensitivity of the 1∶1 Hg(II) complex at 558 nm (λ_max) are 5.78×10⁴ L mol^?1 cm^?1 and 0.67 ng mL^?1, respectively. The detection limit of Hg(II) is 1.40×10^?2 ng mL^?1, and Beer's law is valid in the concentration range 0.05–2.40 µg mL^?1. Overlapping spectral profiles of Hg(II) and Zn(II) complexes in zero‐order mode interfere in their simultaneous determination. However, 0.10–2.00 µg mL^?1 of Hg(II) and 0.065–0.650 µg mL^?1 of Zn(II), when present together, can be simultaneously determined at zero cross point of the derivative spectrum, without any prior separation. The relative standard deviation for six replicate measurements of solutions containing 0.134 µg mL^?1 of Hg(II) and 0.620 µg mL^?1 of Zn(II) is 1.72 and 1.47%, respectively. The proposed method has successfully been evaluated for trace level simultaneous determination of Hg(II) and Zn(II) in environmental samples.     

Determination of Danofloxacin and Marbofloxacin in Milk Samples by Micellar Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection

Abstract

A simple, rapid, and sensitive analytical method has been developed for the determination of two fluoroquinolones, danofloxacin and marbofloxacin, in bovine milk samples. Separation and quantification were performed by micellar liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (MLC?FD), using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a surfactant. The influence of the principal factors, namely, the micelle concentration, the amount of organic modifier, tail‐reducing agents, the pH, and the temperature were studied. The suitable condition was found to be 75 mM SDS?10 mM phosphate buffer–18 mM tetrabutylammonium bromide/3% (v/v) 1‐propanol at pH 3.0 for the separation of marbofloxacin, danofloxacin, and tosufloxacin (internal standard) in about 20 min. The linear concentration range of application was 1.8–30.0 ng · mL^?1 for danofloxacin and 16–120 ng · mL^?1 for marbofloxacin, and the relative standard deviation ranged between 4.9 and 2.7%. The limit of detection found for danofloxacin was 0.5 ng · mL^?1 and 5 ng · mL^?1 for marbofloxacin. These values were lower than the maximum residue limits (MRLs) established by the European Union for these compounds in bovine milk. It was applied to check the eventual existence of these compounds above these limits on commercial milk samples. The validation method was completed with spiked milk samples. Recovery levels obtained were 90.3–108.2%.     

Colorimetric Determination of Lead Using Gold Nanoparticles

A combined homogeneous assay and colorimetric determination method using gold nanoparticles was developed for rapid determination of lead(II) in contaminated natural waters. The presence of lead(II) in the colloidal gold suspension causes a change in the absorbance of the suspension. An increase in the absorption property at 595 nm is accompanied by a change in the size of the gold nanoparticles. High concentrations of lead cause aggregation of the gold colloids. Colloidal gold nanoparticles were synthesized using tannic acid as the reducing agent; this reagent allowed selective determination of lead in 10 µL of water, with a detection limit of 310 ng mL^?1 with an analysis time of 5 min. The coefficient of variation for lead(II) within the working range of the assay (520 ng mL^?1–13 µg mL^?1) varied from 1.3% to 9.2%. The limit of detection using this method with a sample volume of 50 µL was 60 ng mL^?1. The coefficient of variation for lead over the working range of the determined concentrations (80 ng mL^?1–25 µg mL^?1) varied from 0.2% to 9.3%, while the values for the inter-day assay (n = 8) were less than 10%. The method was employed for the analysis of river, lake, marsh, and spring water; the recovery of lead was determined to be 72.5%–130% for 10 µL of water and 93.6%–114.7% for 50 µL.     

Determination of Alkylphenols in Water by Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Based on Solid Formation without a Disperser

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solid formation without a disperser combined with high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed for the determination of 4-tert-butylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol. This method is rapid, easy, and uses only 10 µL of a low toxicity organic solvent (1-hexadecanethiol) for the extraction solvent and no disperser solvent. The extraction time and centrifugation time require less than 10 min. The linear range was 1–500 ng mL^?1 for 4-tert-butylphenol, 2–1000 ng mL^?1 for 4-tert-octylphenol, and 5–500 ng mL^?1 for 4-n-nonylphenol with r² ≥ 0.9986. The detection limits were between 0.2 and 1.5 ng mL^?1. The recoveries of lake and river water samples were in the range of 79% to 108%, and the relative standard deviations were 5% to 10%.     

Quantification of Thiram in Honeybees: Development of a Chemiluminescent ELISA

Abstract

A Chemiluminescence Enzyme‐Linked Immuno‐Sorbent Assay (CL‐ELISA) for determination and quantification of the fungicide thiram in honeybees was developed in an indirect competitive format. The assay was optimized by determining: the optimal coating conjugate concentration and anti‐thiram antiserum dilution, the effect of the incubation time on the competitive step, the tolerance to organic solvents. The IC₅₀ and the limit of detection (LOD) values were 60 ng mL^?1 and 9 ng mL^?1, respectively, similar to those of colorimetric ELISA with a calibration range of 9–15,000 ng mL^?1. Cross reactivity of some related compounds such as some dithiocarbamates, a thiocarbamate, the ethylenethiourea and the tetramethylthiourea were tested. The assay was then applied to honeybees sample extracts obtained by using the liquid‐liquid extraction or the graphitized carbon‐based solid phase extraction.

The calibration curves in honeybee extracts from liquid‐liquid procedure gave an IC₅₀ of 141 ng mL^?1 and a LOD of 17 ng mL^?1. In case of extracts obtained by SPE these values were 139 ng mL^?1 and 15 ng mL^?1, respectively. The average recovery value from honeybee extracts spiked with 75 ng mL^?1 of thiram was 72% for SPE, higher than for liquid‐liquid extraction (60%). On the opposite, when the honeybees were directly spiked with 2 and 10 ppm the average recovery was higher for liquid‐liquid extraction (54%), than for SPE (31%). Finally, the assay was applied to honeybee samples collected during monitoring activities in Italy and Russia.     

Simple and rapid surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy assay for safranine T and its application in highly sensitive determination of mercury (Ⅱ)

A simple and sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the detection of safranine T (ST) and Hg²⁺ using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as substrate was developed. ST can absorb on the surface of AgNPs through electrostatic interaction, the electromagnetic effect combined with chemical adsorption effect give a notable Raman enhancement for ST. The presence of Hg²⁺ well decreased the absorbed ST molecules on AgNPs, leading to a significant decrease of SERS signals thus enabling to detect Hg²⁺. The determination conditions for SERS, including the amount of AgNPs, the concentration of NaCl, the concentration of HCl, the concentration of ST and the reaction time, were optimised. Under the optimised experimental conditions, good linear responses were obtained for ST and Hg²⁺ in the concentration ranges of 0.01–4.0 μmol L^?1 (3.5–1403.4 ng mL^?1) and 0.01–2.0 μmol L^?1 (2.0–401.2 ng mL^?1), the limit of detection were 3.0 nmol L^?1 (1.1 ng mL^?1) and 2.0 nmol L^?1 (0.4 ng mL^?1), respectively. The present method was subsequently applied to the determination of ST in tomato sauces and Hg²⁺ in environmental waters, the recoveries of ST and Hg²⁺ in spiked samples are 95.5–107.8% and 91.4–110.8 %, respectively.     

Conductometric studies and application of new Schiff base ligand as carbon paste electrode modifier for mercury and cadmium determination

A new chemically modified carbon paste electrode by 2,2?-((pyridine-2,6-diylbis(azanylylidene))bis(methanylylidene))diphenol (L) ligand has been made and used as a sensor for determination of trace mercury and cadmium ions with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) methods. Complexation studies of the ligand with Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions by conductometric method in acetonitrile–ethanol mixture at 25°C show that the ML complexes have formed. The formation constants of complexes were calculated from the computer fitting of the molar conductance–mole ratio data, and the stability of the resulting complexes varied in order of Cd²⁺ > Hg²⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Zn²⁺ > Ni²⁺. Then a simple and effective chemically modified carbon paste electrode with L was prepared, and the electrochemical properties and applications of the modified electrode were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limit was 0.0494 μg L^?1 and 0.0782 μg L^?1 for cadmium and mercury ions, respectively, and the linear range for both metal ions were from 1 to 100 μg L^?1. The electrode shows high sensitivity, reproducibility and low cost, and was successfully applied to determination of Cd²⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions in water samples with recovery in the range of 97–101%.     

Thermodynamic Study of Myelin Basic Protein upon Interaction with [Hg2+] Using Extension Solvation Model

Mercury ion interaction with myelin basic protein (MBP) was studied at 300 K in 30 mmol/L tris buffer, pH=7 by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). An extended solvation model was used for Hg²⁺+MBP interaction over the whole range of Hg²⁺ concentrations. The binding parameters recovered from the solvation model were attributed to the structural changes of MBP due to its interaction with mercury ion. It was found that mercury ion acted as a noncooperative effector of MBP, and there is a set of two identical and independent binding sites for Hg²⁺ ions. The dissociation equilibrium constant is 97.6 µmol/L. The molar enthalpy change of binding is ?11.25 kJ·mol^?1.     

Simultaneous Estimation of Atorvastatin Calcium, Ramipril and Aspirin in Capsule Dosage Form by RP-LC

A simple, sensitive, precise and accurate reversed phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of atorvastatin (AT) calcium, ramipril (RA) and aspirin (AS) from capsule dosage form. The method was developed using a Phenomenex Luna C₁₈ (250 mm, 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1%, orthophosphoric acid buffer:acetonitrile:methanol (45:50:5 v/v/v), pH 3.3, at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. Detection was carried out with ultra-violet detection at 210 nm. The retention times were about 12.19, 2.35, and 3.95 min for AT calcium, RA and AS, respectively. The developed method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection, limit of quantitation and robustness. The linearity ranges were 1–6 µg mL^?1 for AT calcium, 0.5–3 µg mL^?1 for RA and 7.5–45 µg mL^?1 for AS with mean recoveries of 100.59 ± 0.68, 100.62 ± 0.83 and 100.49 ± 0.73% for AT calcium, RA and AS, respectively. Limit of detection obtained were 29.85 ng mL^?1 for AT calcium, 4.71 ng mL^?1 for RA and 85.13 ng mL^?1 for AS. Impurity of salicylic acid was found in capsule dosage form at the retention time of about 4.84 min. The proposed method can be used for the estimation of these drugs in combined dosage forms.     

Determination of Pantoprazole, Rabeprazole, Esomeprazole, Domperidone and Itopride in Pharmaceutical Products by Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography Using Single Mobile Phase

A simple, sensitive, and precise high performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of pantoprazole, rabeprazole, esomeprazole, domperidone and itopride, with ultraviolet detection at 210 nm, has been developed, validated, and used for the determination of compounds in commercial pharmaceutical products. The compounds were well separated on a Hypersil BDS C18 reversed-phase column by use of a mobile phase consisting of 0.05 M, 4.70 pH, potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer - acetonitrile (720:280 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. The linearity ranges were 400–4,000 ng mL^?1 for pantoprazole, 200–2,000 ng mL^?1 for rabeprazole, 400–4,000 ng mL^?1 for esomeprazole, 300–3,000 ng mL^?1 for domperidone and 500–5,000 ng mL^?1 for itopride. Limits of detection (LOD) obtained were: pantoprazole 147.51 ng mL^?1, rabeprazole 65.65 ng mL^?1, esomeprazole 131.27 ng mL^?1, domperidone 98.33 ng mL^?1 and itopride 162.35 ng mL^?1. The study showed that reversed-phase liquid chromatography is sensitive and selective for the determination of pantoprazole, rabeprazole, esomeprazole, domperidone and itopride using single mobile phase.     

Catalytic Square-Wave Voltammetric Determination of Acrylamide in Potato Chips

Abstract

Square-wave voltammetry is a fast technique used for determination of trace amounts of acrylamide. When cobalt(II) ions were added to the acrylamide solution, a catalytic peak at about ?1.35 V vs. Ag/AgCl was observed, which was proportional to acrylamide concentration. The calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 200–800 ng mL^?1 of acrylamide with a regression coefficient of 0.9989. The limit of detection of the method was 3.52 ng mL^?1, and the relative standard deviations for concentrations of 300 ng mL^?1 and 700 ng mL^?1 were 99.8% × 10^?2 and 79.7% × 10^?2, respectively.     

Development of Immunoaffinity Sample-Purification for GC–MS Analysis of Ractopamine in Swine Tissue

A method combining immunoaffinity chromatography with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) has been established for determination of ractopamine residues in swine liver and urine. After clean-up on an immunoaffinity chromatography column, GC–MS analysis revealed recovery from blank swine liver and urine fortified at 2.5–20 ng g^?1 (ng mL^?1 for urine), respectively, was 68.2–78.6 and 76.2–83.1%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.5 ng g^?1 (or ng mL^?1) and 2.0 ng g^?1 (or ng mL^?1), respectively. The procedure was used for analysis of ractopamine residues in samples of swine liver and urine in which the levels were unknown. The amounts detected were 9–216 ng g^?1 (ng mL^?1).     

3-Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane coated capillary micro-extraction coupled to capillary electrophoresis for the determination of methylmercury, phenylmercury and mercury in biological sample

A simple method for the separation of methylmercury, phenylmercury and mercury(II) in biological sample was developed. The novel method was targeted on extraction of mercury species using a 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane coated capillary, and determined by capillary electrophoresis with ultraviolet absorption detection. The effects of pH, sample volume and flow rate, eluent volume and flow rate on the efficiency of micro-extraction were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits (S/N?=?3) of MeHg, PhHg and Hg²⁺ were 0.012, 0.007 and 0.003 µg mL^?1, respectively. The precisions (RSDs) of the peak area and the migration time for five replicate injections of the three species after capillary micro-extraction were 6.4%, 8.3%, 5.3% and 1.2%, 1.3%, 1.8%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of mercury species in biological sample.     

Diphenyl diselenide grafted onto a Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>-chitosan composite as a new nanosorbent for separation of metal ions by effervescent salt-assisted dispersive magnetic micro solid-phase extraction

Diphenyl diselenide was immobilized on chitosan loaded with magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles to give an efficient and cost-effective nanosorbent for the preconcentration of Pb(II), Cd(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions by using effervescent salt-assisted dispersive magnetic micro solid-phase extraction (EA-DM-μSPE). The metal ions were desorbed from the sorbent with 3M nitric acid and then quantified via microflame AAS. The main parameters affecting the extraction were optimized using a one-at-a-time method. Under optimum condition, the limits of detection, linear dynamic ranges, and relative standard deviations (for n?=?3) are as following: Pb(II): 2.0 ng·mL^?1; 6.3–900 ng·mL^?1; 1.5%. Cd(II): 0.15 ng·mL^?1; 0.7–85 ng·mL^?1, 3.2%; Ni(II): 1.6 ng·mL^?1,.6.0–600. ng·mL^?1, 4.1%; Cu(II): 1.2 ng·mL^?1, 3.0–300 ng·mL^?1, 2.2%. The nanosorbent can be reused at least 4 times.

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Graphical abstract Fe₃O₄-chitosan composite was modified with diphenyl diselenide as a sorbent for separation of metal ions by effervescent salt-assisted dispersive magnetic micro solid-phase extraction.

     

Simultaneous Quantitation of Paracetamol, Pseudoephedrine and Chlorpheniramine in Dog Plasma by LC-MS-MS

A simple, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry quantitative detection method, using amantadine as internal standard, was developed for the simultaneous analysis of paracetamol, pseudoephedrine and chlorpheniramine concentrations. Analytes were extracted from plasma samples by liquid–liquid extraction with n-hexane–dichloromethane–2-propanol (2:1:0.1, v/v), separated on a C18 reversed-phase column with 0.1% formic acid–methanol (40:60, v/v) and detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in positive multiple reaction monitoring mode. Calibration curves for plasma were linear over the concentration range 10–10,000 ng mL^?1 of paracetamol, 2–2,000 ng mL^?1 of pseudoephedrine and 0.2–200 ng mL^?1 of chlorpheniramine. The method has a lower limit of quantitation of 10 ng mL^?1 for paracetamol, 2.0 ng mL^?1 for pseudoephedrine and 0.2 ng mL^?1 for chlorpheniramine. Recoveries, precision and accuracy results indicate that the method was reliable within the analytical range, and the use of the internal standard was very effective for reproducibility by LC-MS-MS. This method is feasible for the evaluation of pharmacokinetic profiles of a novel multicomponent sustained release formulation containing 325 mg of paracetamol, 30 mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and 2 mg of chlorpheniramine maleate. It is the first time the pharmacokinetic evaluation of a novel sustained-action formulation containing paracetamol, pseudoephedrine and chlorpheniramine has been elucidated in vivo using LC-MS-MS.     

Study on the Interaction between a Novel Ionic Liquid Probe and Anionic Surfactants Using Resonance Light Scattering Spectra and Its Analytical Application

The interaction between anionic surfactants (AS) and 1‐hexadecyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bromide [C₁₆mim]Br was studied by using resonance light scattering (RLS) technique, UV‐Vis spectrophotometry and fluorometric methods. In Britton Robinson (BR) buffer (pH 6.0), [C₁₆mim]Br reacted with AS to form supermolecular complex which resulted in enhancement in RLS intensity. Their maximum RLS wavelengths were all at 390 nm. Some important interacting experimental variables, such as the solution acidity, [C₁₆mim]Br concentration, salt effect and addition order of the reagents, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, quantitative determination ranges were 0.001–7 μg·mL^?1 for dodecyl sodium sulfate (SDS), 0.001–6 μg·mL^?1 for sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) and 0.005–7 μg·mL^?1 for sodium lauryl sulfonate (SLS), respectively, while the detection limits were 1.3 ng·mL^?1 for SDS, 1.0 ng·mL^?1 for SDBS and 5.1 ng·mL^?1 for SLS, respectively. Based on the ion‐association reaction, a highly sensitive, simple and rapid method has been established for the determination of AS.     

Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody-Based Lateral Flow Immunoassay Platform for Sensitive Quantitation of Four Sulfonamide Residues in Milk and Swine Urine

Based on the available rabbit monoclonal antibody (RabMAb), a rapid and sensitive lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) platform has been developed for quantitative detection of four sulfonamide residues(SRs) of sulfadiazine (SD), sulfathiazole (STZ), sulfapyridine (SP), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX).Within the designed LFA competitive format assay, which was based on antigen-antibody properties, the hapten conjugate N¹-[4-(carboxymethyl)-2-thiazolyl] sulfanilamide linked to protein ovalbumin (TS-OVA) and goat anti-rabbit antibody were sprayed as capture and control reagents, respectively, and then the antibody was conjugated to colloidal gold particles as the detection reagent. With quantitative assessment aided by a colorimetric strip reader, the sensitivities of the established LFA method for SD, STZ, SP, and SMX were 0.91 ng mL^?1, 0.10ng mL^?1,0.12ng mL^?1, and 2.13ng mL^?1, and the half-maximum inhibition concentrations (IC₅₀) were 5.19 ng mL^?1, 1.25 ng mL^?1, 0.66 ng mL^?1, and 24.14 ng mL^?1, respectively. The recoveries at three spiked levels (5, 20, 50 ng mL^?1for SD, STZ, and SP; 20, 50, 100 ng mL^?1 for SMX) were in the range of 78.02–135.10% and 76.40–137.16% for milk and swine urine, respectively. More importantly, the detection performance of the established platform was consistent with that of in-parallel LC-MS/MS analysis. In conclusion, the proposed LFA platform has showed the potential for fast, sensitive and relatively accurate quantification of four sulfonamide residues in practical uses.     

Determination of Arsenic,Mercury and Barium in Herbarium Mount Paper Using Dynamic Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Prior to Atomic Fluorescence and Absorption Spectrometry

A dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction method using Atomic Absorption and Atomic Fluorescence spectrometers as detectors was developed to analyze mercury, arsenic, and barium from herbarium mount paper originating from the herbarium collection of the National Museum of Wales. The variables influencing extraction were optimized by a multivariate approach. The optimal conditions were found to be 1% HNO₃ extractant solution used at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. The duty cycle and amplitude of the ultrasonic probe was found to be 50% in both cases with an ultrasound power of 400 W. The optimal distance between the probe and the top face of the extraction chamber was found to be 0 cm. Under these conditions the time required for complete extraction of the three analytes was 25 min. Cold vapor and hydride generation coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry was utilized to determine mercury and arsenic, respectively. The chemical and instrumental conditions were optimized to provide detection limits of 0.01 ng g^?1 and 1.25 ng g^?1 for mercury and arsenic, respectively. Barium was determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, with a detection limit of 25 ng g^?1. By using 0.5 g of sample, the concentrations of the target analytes varied for the different types of paper and ranged between 0.4–2.55 µg g^?1 for Ba, 0.035–10.47 µg g^?1 for As, and 0.0046–2.37 µg g^?1 for Hg.     

Simultaneous Determination of Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid in Dog Plasma by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A rapid, sensitive, and specific high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for the simultaneous determination and confirmation of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid in plasma. Plasma sample was subjected to a simple deproteinization with acetonitrile, and then the supernatant was directly diluted by water. Analysis was performed on a Phenomenex Luna C₈ reversed-phase column by detection with mass spectrometry in negative ions multiple reaction monitoring mode. A gradient elution program with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile was performed at a flow of 0.25 mL min^?1. There is good linearity in the range of 0.5–500 ng mL^?1 for both amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. The decision limits of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid were 0.06 ng mL^?1 and 0.08 ng mL^?1 in plasma, respectively, and the detection capabilities of two analytes were below 0.5 ng mL^?1. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. The extraction recoveries of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid were between 102% and 115% in plasma at three spiked levels of 0.5, 50, and 500 ng mL^?1, with the relative standard deviations less than 15% for each analyte. The developed method was applied to pharmacokinetic studies of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid tablets in healthy beagles.