Simultaneous multi-residue analytical method for anesthetics and sedatives in seafood samples by LC-ESI/MSMS

•Simultaneous multi-residue analysis for 27 sedatives and anesthetics in seafood using LC-ESI/MSMS was developed.•The optimized pretreatment methods were extraction of flatfish and eel using ACN without any additives and extraction of shrimp using 0.1 % ammonium acetate in ACN.•The validation was satisfied with CODEX Alimentarius (CAC/GL-71) A simultaneous multi-residue analytical method for 27 regulated and unregulated anesthetics and sedatives in seafood using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (LC-ESI/MSMS) was developed and tested on flatfish, eels, and shrimp. To optimize the efficiency of the method, extraction and clean-up procedures with various solvents and sorbents were tested. The most efficient pretreatment methods were extraction using acetonitrile (ACN) only (for flatfish and eel) and 0.1 % ammonium acetate in ACN (for shrimp). Validation was performed under the guidelines of CODEX Alimentarius (CAC/GL-71) and the Korean National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (NIFDS). The limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), accuracy, and precision for all compounds ranged from 0.0002 to 0.002 mg/kg, 0.0005–0.005 mg/kg, 64.7–112.5 %, and 1.0–8.6 %, respectively. The coefficient of determination (linearity, R2) was over 0.98. Therefore, the method meets the requirements of both the domestic and international guidelines.