Construction of on-line supercritical fluid extraction with reverse phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of capsaicin

A novel on-line system composed of supercritical fluid extraction(SFE), dilution line and reverse phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry(RPLC/MS) was constructed for on-line extraction and reverse phase separation of some fat-soluble components in foods. Three columns including a trap column,concentration column and analytical column were used for trapping the fat-soluble components, on-line enrichment and reverse phase separation, respectively. Capsaicinoids were on-line extracted by a CO_2 supercritical fluid, then concentrated and separated by using the C₁₈ columns, finally detected by mass spectrometry(MS). Capsaicin eluted at 10.1 min and limit of detection(LOD, S/N=3) for the standard solution is 0.55pg. The linearity was calculated with a value of coefficient of determination(R^2)≥0.998 in the range of 1.1–8.5 ng. Concentrations of capsaicin in the green, yellow, and red bell peppers were determined to be 60.33 ng/g, 31.79 ng/g, 35.38ng/g, respectively.