Simultaneous determination and identity confirmation of thiodicarb and its degradation product methomyl in animal-derived foodstuffs using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and tandem mass spectrometry

High-efficiency degradation of methomyl by the novel bacterial consortium MF0904: Performance, structural analysis, metabolic pathways, and environmental bioremediation

Methomyl is a widely used carbamate pesticide, which has adverse biological effects and poses a serious threat to ecological environments and human health. Several bacterial isolates have been investigated for removing methomyl from environment. However, low degradation efficiency and poor environmental adaptability of pure cultures severely limits their potential for bioremediation of methomyl-contaminated environment. Here, a novel microbial consortium, MF0904, can degrade 100% of 25 mg/L methomyl within 96 h, an efficiency higher than that of any other consortia or pure microbes reported so far. The sequencing analysis revealed that Pandoraea, Stenotrophomonas and Paracoccus were the predominant members of MF0904 in the degradation process, suggesting that these genera might play pivotal roles in methomyl biodegradation. Moreover, five new metabolites including ethanamine, 1,2-dimethyldisulfane, 2-hydroxyacetonitrile, N-hydroxyacetamide, and acetaldehyde were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, indicating that methomyl could be degraded firstly by hydrolysis of its ester bond, followed by cleavage of the C-S ring and subsequent metabolism. Furthermore, MF0904 can successfully colonize and substantially enhance methomyl degradation in different soils, with complete degradation of 25 mg/L methomyl within 96 and 72 h in sterile and nonsterile soil, respectively. Together, the discovery of microbial consortium MF0904 fills a gap in the synergistic metabolism of methomyl at the community level and provides a potential candidate for bioremediation applications.

Immunochromatographic assay for the analysis of methomyl in cabbage and tomato

In this study, a hapten of methomyl was designed and used to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against methomyl. Based on these mAbs, we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip for the determination of methomyl residues. Results from the ELISA showed that mAb 1D10 exhibited higher affinity with an affinity constant of 2.76 × 10¹⁰ L/mol and higher sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) was 8.12 ng/mL. After optimizing the ICA, a visible limit of detection (vLOD) was found to be 100 ng/g and the cut-off value was 500 ng/g for methomyl in cabbage and tomato. The calculated LODs were 3.2 ng/g and 5.4 ng/g in cabbage and tomato, respectively. Moreover, results from the ICA were consistent with those of the ELISA in our recovery assay using spiked samples. Hence, the ICA method has a bright future and great prospects for the detection of methomyl in food samples.

Wide-scope multi-residue analysis of pesticides in beef by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Increasing pesticide contamination in foods of animal origin has made the wide-scope multi-residue analysis of pesticides an international concern. In this study, a sensitive and reliable multi-residue pesticide analysis method for beef was developed with the use of 129 pesticides to demonstrate the full scope of the method. The pesticides were extracted and purified using a modified QuEChERS technique and analysed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. An orthogonal array design was employed for optimisation of the method, significantly scientising and simplifying the process. Method validation revealed satisfactory sensitivity with limits of quantification values ranging from 0.003 to 11.37 µg∙kg^-1. Matrix effects ranged from 83.85% to 120.66%. Recovery at three spiking levels (20, 50, and 100 µg∙kg^-1) were 70.51-128.12% and the intra-day and inter-day precisions were less than 20%, indicating good accuracy and precision.

Selective Detection of Methomyl Pesticide by a Catalytic Chemosensing Assay

The catalytic chemosensing assay (CCA), a new indicator displacement assay, was developed for selective detection of methomyl, a highly toxic pesticide. Trimetallic complex {[Fe^II (dmbpy)(CN)₄ ]-[Pt^II (DMSO)Cl]₂ -[Ru^II (bpy)₂ (CN)₂ ]} (1; dmbpy=4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, bpy=2,2'-bipyridine) was synthesized as a task-specific catalyst to initially reduce and degrade methomyl to CH₃ SH/CH₃ NH₂ /CH₃ CN/CO₂ . The thus-produced CH₃ SH interacts with the trimetallic complex to displace the cis-[Ru^II (bpy)₂ (CN)₂ ] luminophore for monitoring. Other pesticides, including organophosphates and similar carbamate pesticides, remained intact under the same catalytic conditions; a selective sensing signal is only activated when 1 recognizes methomyl. Furthermore, 1 can be applied to detect methomyl in real water samples. In the luminescent mode of the assay, the method detection limit (MDL) of 1 for methomyl (LD₅₀ =17 mg kg^-1 ) was 1.12 mg L^-1 .

Quantification of spinosyn A and spinosyn D in animal-derived products using multiwalled carbon nanotubes coupled with LC-MS/MS for analysis

An analytical method was developed for the quantification of spinosad (sum of spinosyns A and D) in five animal-derived products (chicken breast, pork, beef, egg, and milk) using LC-MS/MS. The sample was extracted using acetonitrile/1% acetic acid and a combination of magnesium sulfate and sodium acetate salts. The sample was purified using multiwalled carbon nanotubes as sorbent via a dispersive-solid-phase extraction procedure. Matrix-matched calibration (seven-point) provided good linearity with coefficient of determination (R² ) ≥0.99 for each product. The limits of detection and quantification (LOQs) ranged between 0.0003-0.03 and 0.001-0.1 mg/kg, respectively. Method validation was carried out after spiking the target standard to blank matrices at the concentration levels of LOQ, 2 × LOQ, and 10 × LOQ with three replicates for each. The average recoveries were between 74 and 104%, with relative standard deviations ≤9.68, which were within the acceptable range designated by the international organizations. The developed method was successfully applied for monitoring market samples collected throughout the Korean Peninsula, and none of the samples tested positive for the target analytes. It has therefore been shown that dehydration and acidification were effective to extract spinosad from animal-derived products.

Signal optimized rough silver nanoparticle for rapid SERS sensing of pesticide residues in tea

Trace detection of toxic chemicals in foodstuffs is of great concern in recent years. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has drawn significant attention in the monitoring of food safety due to its high sensitivity. This study synthesized signal optimized flower-like silver nanoparticle-(AgNP) with EF at 25 °C of 1.39 × 10⁶ to extend the SERS application for pesticide sensing in foodstuffs. The synthesized AgNP was deployed as SERS based sensing platform to detect methomyl, acetamiprid-(AC) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-(2,4-D) residue levels in green tea via solid-phase extraction. A linear correlation was twigged between the SERS signal and the concentration for methomyl, AC and 2,4-D with regression coefficient of 0.9974, 0.9956 and 0.9982 and limit of detection of 5.58 × 10^-4, 1.88 × 10^-4 and 4.72 × 10^-3 µg/mL, respectively; the RSD value < 5% was recorded for accuracy and precision analysis suggesting that proposed method could be deployed for the monitoring of methomyl, AC and 2,4-D residue levels in green tea.