ARS | Publication request: A FLUOROMETRIC SCREENING ASSAY FOR TETRACYCLINE IN CHICKEN MUSCLE

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 25, 2003
Publication Date: September 14, 2003
Citation: SCHNEIDER, M.J. A FLUOROMETRIC SCREENING ASSAY FOR TETRACYCLINE IN CHICKEN MUSCLE. 117TH AOAC INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL MEETING. ABSTRACT. 2003. P. 100.

Technical Abstract: The antibiotic tetracycline (TC) is approved for use in chickens in the U.S., with a tolerance level of 2 microgram/g in muscle. A rapid chemical screening assay for tetracycline at the tolerance level was investigated. This assay takes advantage of the fluorescence of tetracyclines in the presence of Mg+2 ions under basic conditions. The procedure requires only extraction of the tissue in basic acetonitrile, centrifugation, addition of Mg+2, and another centrifugation before fluorescence intensity is monitored at 505 nm. Individual control chicken breasts tested with and without fortification with TC at 2 microgram/g showed that a threshold can be set for discrimination between the two types of samples. This work provides an effective screening method for the presence of TC at 2 microgram/g in chicken muscle.