A comparative study of different multiresidue methods for the determination of pesticides in fruit samples by gas chromatography

Determination of pesticides in vegetables using large-volume injection column liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Direct injection of a large volume (900 microl) of a sample extract onto a liquid chromatographic (LC) column, LC separation and electrospray tandem mass spectrometric detection were used for the quantitative analysis of a wide polarity range of pesticides in carrots and potatoes. Rapid sample preparation involved extraction of a small amount of sample (2 g) with a small volume of organic solvent (3 ml), clean-up over a filter and dilution of the organic extract with the aqueous LC eluent. The extraction efficiency for the selected pesticides was studied using methanol, acetone and acetonitrile as solvents. Evaluation of the performance of the overall method, using extraction with acetonitrile and detection in the selected-reaction-monitoring mode, showed excellent linearity in the range of 2-100 microg/kg with limits of detection of 0.5-2 microg/kg for both types of vegetable. With relative standard deviations of the MS peak area measurements of less than 6.5% (n=8) the repeatability of the method was fully satisfactory.

Simultaneous pulsed flame photometric and mass spectrometric detection for enhanced pesticide analysis capabilities

Analysis of pesticides by simultaneous pulsed flame photometric detection (PFPD) and mass spectrometric (MS) detection was performed with column-effluent splitting between these two detectors. The resulting PFPD chromatograms were always much simpler due to the PFPD selectively and were further characterized by better sensitivity than that of MS. Accordingly, the PFPD chromatogram served as a marker for the exact elution time of the suspected pesticide. At this exact elution time, the resulting mass spectra were examined of unique high-mass peaks and a precise background subtraction was performed for improved library identification. If no definite identification was achieved, reconstructed mass chromatograms were performed, inspected for suspected major ions and confirmed with the PFPD chromatogram. A sequential search was then performed with the NIST library. The presence of P or S atoms was introduced into the search algorithm and two of the major suspected fragment mass peaks were included with an estimate of their minimum relative abundance. Under these conditions, the library search provided the correct pesticide identification, at a considerably lower concentration than achievable with standard GC-MC analysis. If only information on a single ion was available, such as with very pronounced matrix interferences, or with single-ion monitoring MS analysis, the NIST library sequential search was operated with this single-on information and PFPD provided information on both P and S (the majority of organophosphorus pesticides contain both P and S). The incorporation of one major ion and two heteroatoms' (P and S) information enabled an effective library identification, at an even further reduced pesticide concentration. The simultaneous PFPD-MS analysis approach is demonstrated and discussed with several examples of authentic pesticides in vegetable and spices. The merits of this method are analyzed and discussed with an emphasis on the unique suitability of PFPD for combination with MS.

Multiresidue determination of pesticides in apples and pears by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

This paper describes a rapid, specific and sensitive multiresidue method for the routine analysis of several classes of pesticides used for the treatment of apples and pears, involving a rapid extraction procedure at pH 4.5 with a mixture of acetone-dichloromethane-hexane (50:20:30, v/v/v) and gas chromatography coupled to mass-selective detection, in order to achieve quantitative analysis down to their respective maximum residue limit. Extraction recoveries were between 55 and 98%. Limits of detection and limits of quantitation ranged respectively, from 0.01 to 0.05 mg/kg and from 0.02 to 0.1 mg/kg. Intra-assay relative standard deviation was less than 19% for all compounds. An excellent linearity was observed from these LOQs up to 500 mg/kg. Intermediate (inter-assay) precision and accuracy were satisfactory. The method has been applied to many fruit samples intended for commercialisation.

Determination of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables

A review concerning the determination of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables is presented. The basic principles and recent developments in the extraction and quantitation of pesticides are discussed. Consideration is given to solid phase and supercritical extraction techniques, automation and robotic systems, and immunoassay procedures.

Pesticide residue analyses in plant material by chromatographic methods: clean-up procedures and selective detectors

This paper deals with the analysis of pesticide residues by chromatographic methods in samples of plant origin. Emphasis is put on the isolation and clean-up steps of the sample preparation for GC or LC determination. The problems of the extraction solvent selection and clean-up procedures using different types of adsorption column chromatography or gel permeation chromatography are discussed. Attention is also given to alternative techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), matrix solid-phase dispersion (extraction) (MSPD) and sweep co-distillation that are used for sample processing prior to GC and LC analysis. Currently, pesticide residue analyses are typically multi-residue procedures with highly sensitive methods. Consumption of costly and toxic solvents is being minimized and fully automated analytical procedures can be expected in the future.

Determination of imidacloprid in vegetables by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection

An HPLC method is described for the determination of imidacloprid residues in vegetables at levels ranging from 0.01 to 0.60 mg/kg. The selection of the extraction and clean-up procedure is discussed. Spectral data obtained with diode-array detection allow the identification of imidacloprid residues. Thermospray mass spectrometric studies were carried out in combination with HPLC. The mean recoveries and standard deviations were 95% and 4.7%, respectively, in the various crops tested. Registration of the analytical results for a control sample in quality control charts demonstrated the performance of the method. Data for incurred residues of imidacloprid in vegetable samples routinely applying the proposed method are also presented.

Matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction procedure for multiresidue pesticide analysis in oranges

A multiresidue extraction method based on matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) is optimized for the extraction and gas chromatographic screening of eighteen insecticides (aldrin, carbophenothion, captafol, chlorpyriphos, chlorfenvinphos, diazinon, dicofol, alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, ethion, fenitrothion, folpet, methidathion, malathion, methyl-azinphos, methyl-parathion, phosmet, and tetradifon) from oranges. After optimization of different parameters, such as type of solid phase used and the amount of solid phase or eluent, recoveries ranged from 67 to 102% with relative standard deviations ranging from 2 to 10%. The limits of detection, calculated as 3 times the baseline noise ranged from 2 to 171 micrograms/kg. These limits of detection were about 10 times lower than the maximum residue levels established by the European Community. Compared with classical methods, the described procedure is simple, less labour intensive and does not require preparation and maintenance of equipment. Troublesome emulsions, such as those frequently observed in liquid-liquid partitioning did not occur.

Chromatographic methods for the determination of pesticides in foods

Chromatography is the most important technique available to the analyst dealing with the determination of pesticide residues in food, feed and environmental samples. Numerous methods for pesticide residues in foods have been developed in the past few years, and this paper reviews some of the most important procedures. A great variety of chromatographic methods, such as solid-phase extractions, column chromatographic clean-up methods, thin-layer, gas, high-performance liquid and supercritical fluid chromatography, and their coupling with sensitive and selective detection methods are surveyed.