Beside the possible illegal use of malachite green in aquaculture, other familiar dyes could also been applied by fraudulent producers due to their antiseptic and antibacterial activity. In this contribution, a new sensitive multi-residue method was developed to determine triarylmethane, xanthene, phenothiazine and phenoxazine dyes in fish by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile, followed by an oxidation step using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyanobenzoquinone. Further clean-up was performed by tandem solid phase extraction using weak and strong cation exchange cartridges. Extracts were analysed by UPLC-MS(n) operating in the positive electrospray ionisation mode (ESI+). The fourteen dyes were separated within only 12min on a C18 BEH column using 1mM ammonium acetate in water at pH 4.5 and acetonitrile as mobile phases at a flowrate of 0.4mLmin(-1). The presented method was validated as defined by the European Union and scientific literature. Good linearity (R ≥0.99 and goodness-of-fit (g) ≤10%) was achieved over the tested concentration range (0.25-2ngg(-1)). Limit of quantification was 0.25ngg(-1) for all dyes, with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 10/1. This is at least 5 to 10 times lower than previous published methods. Limits of detection were all <0.1ngg(-1). Precision and trueness fell within the criteria requested by the EC requirements for this concentration range. Decision limit (CCα) and detection capability (CCβ) were all <1 and <0.25ngg(-1), respectively. Due to background levels of the xanthene dyes, the two rhodamine dyes could only be determined above 0.75ngg(-1). For these dyes, the method can only be used for screening purposes. To show the applicability of the method, a monitoring study was performed to investigate the occurrence of artificial dyes in wildlife European eel in Flemish rivers.
