Adsorption of pesticidal compounds bearing a single carboxyl functional group and biogenic amines by humic fraction-immobilized silica gel

Fractions collected from humic acids under acidic and basic conditions were immobilized on silica gel and used as adsorbents for a variety of agricultural pesticide compounds bearing a single carboxyl functional group and biogenic amines in acetonitrile. Among these compounds examined under the same conditions, the percentage of adsorption varies considerably from 0 to almost 100%. The percentage is found to be highly related to the structure of the analyte and the type of functional group attached to it. The adsorption, better performed on adsorbent immobilized with the fraction collected under acidic conditions, is believed to result from the reversible interaction between the functional moieties of the analyte and humic acids (e.g., amino or carboxyl group of analyte vs carboxyl group of humic acids, etc.) as no adsorption is observed under the same conditions for analytes that are derivatives of alcohol, amide, and ester. Given the nature of the analyte, the time needed to reach the maximum percent of adsorption decreases as the amount of adsorbent is increased. Also, the longer the time that has elapsed, the higher the percentage of analyte adsorbed, thus indicating that the adsorption process is surface-oriented. Factors such as the acidic or basic origin of the additive in the liquid phase of the matrix also affect the percentage of analyte adsorbed.