Determination of twelve herbicides in tobacco by a combination of solid–liquid–solid dispersive extraction using multi-walled carbon nanotubes, dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction, and detection by GC with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Gold-based strip sensor for the rapid and sensitive detection of butralin in tomatoes and peppers

Butralin is a widely used dinitroaniline herbicide. Butralin residues in vegetables or fruits represent a threat to human health. In this study, we developed a rapid and sensitive gold-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for butralin detection in tomato and green pepper samples based on a screened monoclonal antibody (mAb) against butralin. The mAb possessed a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 12.7 ng/mL, with no cross-reactivity toward other dinitroaniline herbicides. The established LFIA strip had a visible limit of detection (LOD) of 50 ng/g and a cut-off value of 2000 ng/g in tomato and green pepper samples. According to the calibration curves for quantitative analysis, the calculated LODs of the LFIA strip were 4.7 ng/g and 4.3 ng/g in tomato and green pepper, respectively. The results were obtained within 10 min. The average recoveries ranged between 95.4% and 109.6% with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 4.3% to 7.1% in tomato samples and between 94.8% and 109.1% with a CV of 3.9% to 6.1% in green pepper samples. These data suggested that our proposed LFIA is a sensitive, specific, and reliable method for the rapid detection of butralin in real samples.

Simultaneous analysis of multiple pesticide residues in tobacco by magnetic carbon composite-based QuEChERS method and liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Magnetic carbon composite (Fe3O4@C) was synthesized and applied as a reversed-dispersive solid-phase extraction sorbent for the simultaneous analysis of 40 pesticide residues in tobacco by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-fight mass spectrometry. Compared to the traditional QuEChERS method, the optimized Fe3O4@C simplified clean-up process and exhibited better clean-up capability than conventional sorbents. The pesticides were qualitatively identified by accurate mass of protonated molecules, fragment ions, isotopic peak clusters, and retention time, and quantitatively determined by matrix-matched external standard method. Good linearity of the proposed method was obtained with R value greater than 0.997 for all target pesticides at concentration levels of 2-200 µg/L. The limit of detection ranged from 0.14 to 2.67 µg/kg. The recoveries and relative standard deviations of all target pesticides at three spiked concentrations of 20, 50 and 200 µg/kg were in the ranges of 80.8%-113.3% and 0.6%-16.3%, respectively. Compared with the reported methods for the analysis of multiple pesticide residues in tobacco, the proposed method has the advantages of simple to operate, high clean-up ability and less time-consuming in clean-up process.

Recent Advances in Speciation Analyses of Tobacco and Other Important Economic Crops

Background:

Speciation analysis is defined as the analytical activities of identifying and/or measuring the quantities of one or more individual chemical species in a sample. The knowledge of elemental species provides more complete information about mobility, bioavailability and the impact of elements on ecological systems or biological organisms. It is no longer sufficient to quantitate the total elemental content of samples to define toxicity or essentiality. Thus speciation analysis is of vital importance and generally offers a better understanding of a specific element.

Discussion:

Thorough speciation scheme consisting of sampling, sample preparation, species analysis and evaluation were described. Special emphasis is placed on recent speciation analysis approaches including both direct and coupling methods. A current summary of advantages and limitations of the various methods as well as an illustrative method comparison are presented. Certain elements and species of interest are briefly mentioned and practical examples of speciation applications in tobacco and other important economic crops are also discussed.

Aim/Conclusion:

This review aims to offer comprehensive knowledge about elemental speciation and provide readers with valuable information. Many strategies have been developed for the determination of multiple elemental species in tobacco and other important economic crops. Nevertheless, it is an eternal pursuit to establish speciation methods which can balance accuracy, agility as well as universality.

A non-mercury electrode for the voltammetric determination of butralin in foods

A modified electrode was developed with Co-Ag bimetallic nanoparticles stabilized in poly(vinylpyrrolidone) for butralin monitoring. This is the first non-mercury electrode proposed for the quantification of butralin. The bimetallic nanoparticles were characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, which showed that they are composed of a cobalt core partially covered with silver. The modified electrode was characterized by field emission gun scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The experimental parameters (pH, supporting electrolyte, accumulation step, pulse technique) were optimized. The calibration plot for butralin obtained by square wave voltammetry was linear in the range of 0.1-1.0 μmol L^-1 with limits of detection and quantification of 32 and 106 nmol L^-1, respectively. Lastly, the modified electrode was effectively implemented in the quantification of butralin in honey and apple jam samples. The results were in agreement with those furnished by UV-vis spectrometry and endorsed by statistical tests.

Residue measurement of pendimethalin in tobacco by using heart-cutting two dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

A novel heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for quantitative analysis of pendimethalin residue in tobacco. The strategy of reversed phase liquid chromatography coupled with another reversed-phase liquid chromatography was employed for high column efficiency and excellent compatibility of mobile phase. In the first dimensional chromatography, a cyano column with methanol/water as the eluent was applied to separate pendimethalin from thousands of interference components in tobacco. By heart-cutting technique, which effectively removed interference components, the target compound was cut to the second dimensional C18 column for further separation. The pendimethalin residue was finally determined by the tandem mass spectrometry under multiple reaction monitoring reversed-phase liquid chromatography mode. Sample pretreatment of the new method was simplified, involving only extraction and filtration. Compared with traditional methodologies, the new method showed fairly high selectivity and sensitivity with almost no matrix interference. The limit of quantitation for pendimethalin was 1.21 ng/mL, whereas the overall recoveries ranged from 95.7 to 103.3%. The new method has been successfully applied to non-stop measure of 200 real samples, without contamination of ion source. Detection results of the samples agreed well with standard method.

Residual behavior and risk assessment of butralin in peanut fields

Butralin is widely used to control single-leaf weeds and some dicotyledons. The application of butralin in the environment may cause residue beyond regulation criteria and residual toxicity. Therefore, it is important to detect and supervise the dissipation behavior of butralin in edible raw food and in the environment. The aim of this study was to monitor butralin in peanuts and soil under farmland conditions and examine the likely dietary risk assessment of butralin for Chinese people on the basis of residual concentrations. A method for the analysis of butralin residue and its dissipation in peanut plants and soil under field conditions was investigated. The results show that an analytical method for the quantization of butralin in peanuts and soil utilizing gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) was developed. Standard recovery experiments using three different butralin spiking levels of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mg kg^-1 in different samples (i.e., peanut kernels, shell, seedling, stalk, and soil) were conducted. The recoveries of butralin from all matrices ranged from 86 to 108% with relative standard deviations from 3 to 6% (n = 5). The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0.01 mg kg^-1. After storage at - 20 °C for 365 days, the degradation rate of residues of butralin in peanut kernels was less than 30%, which met the storage stability test criteria for pesticide residues in stored commodities of plant origin. The dissipation half-lives of butralin ranged from 4.2 to 6.6 days and 4.6 to 6.6 days in peanut seedlings and soil, respectively, in farmland ecosystems. At the normal harvest time, the final residue concentrations of butralin in peanuts and soil were all below the LOQ. The final total risk quotient (RQ) values were much lower than RQ = 100%, which indicated that the long-run fitness risk associated with butralin residue in different groups of registered crops is correspondingly low for people in China. The current research results could offer guidance for the rational use of butralin and provide data support for the building of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in China.

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to simultaneously determinate dichlorvos and phoxim in tobacco

A simple pretreatment method with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed and validated to simultaneously determine dichlorvos and phoxim in tobacco and soil matrices. Satisfactory linearity (R2  ≥ 0.9991) of the method was obtained for both analytes. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for dichlorvos and phoxim in three matrices were 0.0015-0.006 and 0.005-0.02 mg/kg, respectively. Average recoveries were 78.24-92.21% for dichlorvos and 76.62-100.51% for phoxim in soil, green tobacco leaves and cured tobacco leaves. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations were <6%. The established method was successfully applied for the residual analysis of dichlorvos and phoxim in real soil and tobacco samples. The results indicated that the established method could be used to detect trace amounts of dichlorvos and phoxim in tobacco. The data could also help the Chinese government establish maximum residue limits of dichlorvos and phoxim on tobacco and establish proper and safe use of dichlorvos and phoxim on tobacco plants in China.

Simultaneous determination and method validation of clethodim and its metabolites clethodim sulfoxide and clethodim sulfone in tobacco by LC-MS/MS

A simple method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of clethodim, clethodim sulfoxide, and clethodim sulfone in soil and tobacco by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The three target compounds were extracted from tobacco and soil with acetonitrile, and the extracts were purified using octadecyl silane. The proposed method showed satisfactory linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9973) for the target compounds. The limits of detection and quantitation of the three analytes in all matrices were 0.024-0.06 and 0.08-0.2 mg/kg, respectively. The recovery was tested in blank soil and tobacco leaf samples and calculated to be 74.8-104.4% with relative standard deviations of 1.9-12.1%. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of residues of clethodim, clethodim sulfoxide and clethodim sulfone in real soil and tobacco samples. The results indicated that the developed method can meet the requirements for the analysis of trace amounts of all three analytes in soil and tobacco.

Dissipation behavior and risk assessment of butralin in soybean and soil under field conditions

Dissipation behavior, final residue, and risk assessment of butralin in soybean, green soybean, plant, and soil were investigated. Butralin residues were extracted with acetonitrile and then soybean samples were detected with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and soil samples were determined with GC with nitrogen phosphorous detector (GC-NPD). The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 0.01 mg/kg for soybean, green soybean, plant, and soil. Average recoveries ranged from 90.4 ~ 98.2% for green soybean, 86.2 ~ 86.6% for soybean, 86.0 ~ 98.8% for plant, and 85.0 ~ 106.8% for soil. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 2.0 ~ 7.2% for green soybean, 2.0 ~ 3.0% for soybean, 3.1 ~ 8.1% for plant, and 1.8 ~ 6.6% for soil. Half-lives of butralin in soil samples varied in the range of 11-22 days. At harvest time, final residues of butralin in soybean and green soybean were lower than LOQ. Risk assessment demonstrated that, at recommended dosage and frequency, butralin would not induce significant harm on humans. The study could be used as a quantitative basis for application of butralin on soybean.

Analysis of pesticide residues in tobacco with online size exclusion chromatography with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

An ultrasensitive method for the simultaneous analysis of pesticides residues in tobacco was developed with online size exclusion chromatography with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Tobacco samples were extracted with the solvent mixture of cyclohexane and acetone (7:3, v/v) and centrifuged. Then, the supernatant liquors were injected directly into the online size exclusion chromatography with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry without any other purification procedures after being filtered with a 0.22 μm organic phase filter. The matrix interferences were effectively removed and recoveries of most pesticides were in the range of 72-121%. Especially, for chlorothalonil, the analysis efficiency of this method was much more favorable than that of the general method, in which dispersive solid-phase extraction was used as an additional purified procedure. In addition, the limits of quantitation of this method were from 1 to 50 μg/kg. Therefore, a rapid, cost-effective, labor-saving method was proposed in the present work, which was suitable for the analysis of 41 pesticide residues in tobacco.

Magnetic graphene as modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe adsorbent for the determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in tobacco

In this study, magnetic graphene was used as modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) adsorbent for the determination of organochlorine pesticide (OCPs) residues in tobacco. To achieve the optimum conditions of modified QuEChERS procedure toward target analytes, several parameters affecting the clean-up efficiency including the amount of the adsorbent and clean-up time were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, a method for the determination of 26 OCPs residues in tobacco was established by coupling the modified QuEChERS procedure to on-line gel permeation chromatography-gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (on-line GPC-GC-MS(2)). The limits of detection of proposed method for 26 OCPs residues ranged from 0.01275 to 3.150ng/g. And good linearities of the proposed method were obtained with coefficients of determination (R(2)) greater than 0.9985 for all target analytes. Good reproducibility of method was obtained as intra- and inter-day precisions, the relative standard deviations were less than 11.1 and 15.0%, respectively. The apparent recoveries were in the range of 64-126% at different concentrations for real samples. Compared with the reported methods for the determination of OCPs residues in tobacco, the proposed method has the advantages of simple to operate, low cost and high clean-up ability. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of OCPs residues in real samples.

Comparison between dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and ultrasound-assisted nanoparticles-dispersive solid-phase microextraction combined with microvolume spectrophotometry method for the determination of Auramine-O in water samples

Novel dispersive solid phase micro-extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid micro-extraction determination of Auramine-O content in various real samples.

Decrease of pirimiphos-methyl and deltamethrin residues in stored rice with post-harvest treatment

A modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged (QuEChERS) method with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as reversed-dispersive solid phase extraction (r-DSPE) material was applied to the analysis of pirimiphos-methyl and deltamethrin residues in stored rice. Two dustable powder (DP) formulations (2% pirimiphos-methyl and deltamethrin DP; 5% pirimiphos-methyl DP) were applied in simulated storehouse trials in the lab. The residues and dissipation of the two pesticides in stored rice were investigated. Slow dissipation of both pesticides was observed in stored rice. The half-lives of pirimiphos-methyl were 23.9–28.9 days, and those of deltamethrin were 23.9–24.8 days. Residues of pirimiphos-methyl from application rates of 4.5–6.75 a.i. mg/kg (active ingredient milligram per kilogram) and 10–15 a.i. mg/kg were 1.6–3.8 mg/kg and 3.0–4.5 mg/kg at 60 days Pre-harvest Interval (PHI). Residues of deltamethrin from an application rate of 0.5–0.75 a.i. mg/kg were 0.13–0.14 mg/kg at 60 days PHI. Both pesticides residues were below the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Therefore, at the recommended dosages they are safe for use on stored rice.