Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction online coupled with single drop microextraction of organophosphorus pesticides in tea samples

Alcohol-based hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents and ultrasound-assisted liquid phase microextraction followed by GC-MS for the extraction and analysis of organophosphorus pesticides in the blood of farmers

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) are a group of pesticides that are most widely used in the agricultural sector, and farmers are exposed to these chemicals more than other members of society. In this work, an environmentally friendly, simple, and safe ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (USA-DLLME) method using alcohol-based hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDESs) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) was developed for the extraction and determination of OPPs in the blood of farmers studied in Ravansar cohort. DESs synthesized from thymol as hydrogen bond donor (HBD) and aliphatic alcohols as hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) have been used as extractants. Under optimal experimental conditions, the reproducibility of the method based on 7 replicate measurements of 10 µg L-1 of OPPs in blood samples was in the range of 1.4-3.8%. The method showed a linearity in the range of 0.01-150 µg L-1. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were between 0.003 and 0.02 µg L-1 and 0.01-0.05 µg L-1, respectively. The matrix effect and accuracy of the method were confirmed by spiking different amounts of OPPs in real blood samples and obtaining relative recoveries in the range of 91-112%. The results showed that the concentration of OPPs in the case group was significantly higher than in the control group, which is because the case group was exposed to OPPs during the spraying of agricultural products.

In Silico Investigation of Selected Pesticides and Their Determination in Agricultural Products Using QuEChERS Methodology and HPLC-DAD

In this study, we considered some pesticides as active substances within formulations for the protection of plant-based food in the Republic of Serbia in silico, because these pesticides have not often been investigated in this way previously, and in an analytical way, because there are not very many available fast, cheap, and easy methods for their determination in real agricultural samples. Seven pesticides were detected in selected agricultural products (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and grapes) using the QuEChERS methodology and HPLC-DAD. Standard curves for the investigated pesticides (chlorantraniliprole, methomyl, metalaxyl, thiacloprid, acetamiprid, emamectin benzoate, and cymoxanil) show good linearity, with R² values from 0.9785 to 0.9996. The HPLC-DAD method is fast, and these pesticides can be determined in real spiked samples in less than 15 min. We further characterized the pesticides we found in food based on physicochemical properties and molecular descriptors to predict the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, and toxicity (ADMET) of the compounds. We summarized the data supporting their effects on humans using various computational tools to determine their potential adverse effects. The results of our prediction study show that all of the selected pesticides considered in this study have good oral bioavailability, and those with high toxicity, therefore, could be harmful to human health. Chlorantraniliprole was shown in a molecular docking study as a good starting point for a new Alzheimer's disease drug candidate.

Determination of Organophosphorus Pesticides Using Solid-Phase Extraction Followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

In this study, a method was developed for determination of three organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) using graphene aerogel solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The experimental results showed that the target analytes could be extracted on packed SPE cartridges and then eluted with tetrahydrofuran. The final sample solution was analyzed by GC-MS, which demonstrated good linearity between 0.5 and 500 μg L-1 with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9991-0.9998. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) and the limits of quantification (S/N = 10) for the three OPPs ranged from 0.38 to 0.82 μg L-1 and 1.32 to 2.75 μg L-1, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated by measuring the recovery of the spiked samples, which ranged from 91.2 to 103.7%, with relative standard deviations of 2.1-7.2%. This method was successfully applied for the determination of the target analytes in water samples taken from tap, wetlands and canal water.

Modern microextraction techniques for natural products

Natural product analysis has gained wide attention in recent years, especially for herbal medicines, which contain complex ingredients and play a significant clinical role in the therapy of numerous diseases. The constituents of natural products are usually found at low concentrations, and the matrices are complex. Thus, the extraction of target compounds from natural products before analysis by analytical instruments is very significant for human health and its wide application. The commonly used traditional extraction methods are time-consuming, using large amounts of sample and organic solvents, as well as expensive and inefficient. Recently, microextraction techniques have been used for natural product extraction to overcome the disadvantages of conventional extraction methods. In this paper, the successful applications of and recent developments in microextraction techniques including solvent-based and sorbent-based microextraction methods, in natural product analysis in recent years, especially in the last 5 years, are reviewed for the first time. Their features, advantages, disadvantages, and future development trends are also discussed.

Application of fabric phase sorptive extraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in selected vegetable samples

In the present work, a high-efficiency and solvent minimized microextraction technique, fabric phase sorptive extraction followed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis is proposed for the rapid determination of four organophosphorus pesticides (terbufos, malathion, chlorpyrifos, and triazofos) in vegetable samples including beans, tomato, brinjal, and cabbage. Fabric phase sorptive extraction combines the beneficial features of sol-gel derived microextraction sorbents with the rich surface chemistry of cellulose fabric substrate, which collectively form a highly efficient microextraction system. Fabric phase sorptive extraction membrane, when immersed directly into the sample matrix, may extract target analytes even when high percentage of matrix interferents are present. The technique also greatly simplifies sample preparation workflow. Most important fabric phase sorptive extraction parameters were investigated and optimized. The developed method displayed good linearity over the concentration range 0.5-500 ng/g. Under optimum experimental conditions, the limits of detection were found in the range of 0.033 to 0.136 ng/g. The relative standard deviations for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides were < 5%. Subsequently, the new method was applied to beans, tomato, brinjal, and cabbage samples. The results from the real sample analysis indicate that the method is green, rapid, and economically feasible for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in vegetable samples.

Influence of relevant parameters on the extraction efficiency and the stability of the microdrop in the single drop microextraction

Single drop microextraction technique uses microamounts of organic solvents. Simplicity, low cost, low environmental impact, compatibility with chromatographic systems as well as its applicability to different matrices are main advantages of single drop microextraction. This technique has become frequently used for the extraction of a broad scope of compounds for numerous analytical applications. This review provides an overview of the existing single drop microextraction modes of realisation and the main scope is devoted to the optimization of parameters influencing the efficiency. The state of the art is discussed on the basis of examples selected from representative application areas. Extraction parameters for toxic organic compounds extraction and microdrop stability were evaluated.

Determination of six organophosphorus pesticides in water samples by three-dimensional graphene aerogel-based solid-phase extraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

In the present study, a three-dimensional graphene aerogel (3D-GA), synthesised by chemical reduction of an aqueous solution of graphene oxides (GOs) with ethylenediaminethermal by a simple water bath method followed by freeze-drying treatment, was used for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of six organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) (i.e. trichlorfon, dimethoate, ethoprophos, parathion, fenitrothion and fenthion) from water samples. The target analytes were extracted using packed SPE cartridges and then eluted with tetrahydrofuran. The eluate was collected and dried with high-purity nitrogen gas at room temperature. After redissolving in acetone, the residue was analysed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The proposed method demonstrated a good linearity between 0.5 and 500 μg L-1 with the correlation coefficient of 0.9990-0.9998. The limits of detection (LODs) (S/N = 3) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) (S/N = 10) for the six OPPs pesticides were in the range of 0.12-0.58 μg L-1 and 0.41-1.96 μg L-1, respectively. The accuracy of the present method was evaluated by measuring the recovery of the spiked samples, which ranged from 93.8% to 104.2% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.1-5.6%. The established method was successfully applied to the determination of the target analytes in environmental water samples including tap water, river water, drinking water and lake water, demonstrating its great potential for the determination of OPPs in water.

Utilizing a novel sorbent in the solid phase extraction for simultaneous determination of 15 pesticide residues in green tea by GC/MS

Pesticide residues exceeding standard in green tea is a widespread problem of the world's attention, containing organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), and pyrethroids. In this research, three dimensionally honeycomb Mg-Al layered double oxide (TDH-Mg-Al-LDO) combined with graphitized carbon black (GCB), packed as a column, was used as a novel solid phase extraction sorbent, applying in simultaneous determination of 15 pesticide residues in green tea coupled with GC-MS. Compared with different type of SPE column, it showed that TDH-Mg-Al-LDO exhibited great advantages in the extraction of 15 pesticide residues from green tea, which was seldom reported before. Different experiment conditions, such as combination order of Mg-Al-LDO and GCB, dosage of sorbents, type and volume of eluting solvent were thoroughly studied and optimized. The limits of detection (LODs) of 15 pesticides ranged from 0.9 to 24.2ng/g and the limits of quantifications (LOQs) were ranging from 3.0 to 80.0ng/g. The recoveries using this method at three spiked concentration levels (10, 100 and 500ng/g for Fenthion, P,P'-DDE, O,P'-DDT, P,P'-DDD and Bifenthrin, 100, 500 and 2000ng/g for the others) range from 71.1 to 119.0%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was from 0.1 to 7.6% in all case. The result indicated that the proposed analytical method had been successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of 15 pesticide residues in commercial green tea.