Rapid Method for the Determination of Thiamine and Pantothenic Acid in Infant Formula and Milk-Based Nutritional Products by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Background: Thiamine and pantothenic acid play a critical role in numerous metabolic reactions and are typically supplemented in infant and adult nutritional formulas as thiamine chloride hydrochloride and calcium pantothenate salts. Objective: A rapid compliance method for the analysis of thiamine and pantothenic acid applicable to infant formula and milk-based nutritional products is described. Method: Proteins are removed by centrifugal ultrafiltration, followed by analysis by reversed-phase liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), with quantitation accomplished by internal standard technique. Results: The method was shown to be accurate, with acceptable recovery (thiamine, 99.3-101.1%; pantothenic acid, 99.2-108.6%). A certified reference material (NIST 1849a), showed no statistical bias (alpha=0.05) for thiamine (P=0.64); although a statistically significant bias (P