Determination of new β2-agonist drugs by α1-acid glycoprotein affinity chromatography

The illicit use of new beta (2)-agonist drugs in meat production is prompting the European Union to improve analytical techniques and testing methods, to authoritatively demonstrate the abuse of such compounds. In this paper, we describe the preparation of xi-acid glycoprotein (AAG) columns for purification by affinity chromatography of clenbuterol and new beta (2)-agonists from bovine urine. HPLC-UV/DAD analyses showed no significant matrix interference in binding, thus indicating the specificity of such a clean-up procedure. Such AAG columns were able to effectively bind a broader range of beta (2)-agonists, compared to immuno-affinity columns. Our approach could improve the clean-up step within a multi-residue analytical strategy.