Development of a highly sensitive enzyme-immunoassay for the determination of triazine herbicides

A monoclonal antibody (Mab) with extraordinary sensitivity and high class selectivity to triazine herbicides is described. With an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Mab 4A54 IC₅₀ values for terbuthylazine, atrazine, propazine and simazine below 0.1 μg/L (the EU maximum admissible concentration for individual pesticides) have been obtained. Detection limits of 0.004 μg/L for terbuthylazine, 0.006 μg/L for atrazine, 0.003 μg/L for propazine, 0.01 μg/L for simazine and 0.05 μg/L for deethylterbuthylazine could be achieved. Therefore, Mab 4A54 allows a sum screening of these five triazines in a relevant concentration range. To our knowledge, this is the most sensitive antibody to terbuthylazine at all and also the most sensitive Mab to all these four triazines. Another monoclonal antibody resulting from the same immunization, clone 4A118, exhibits best sensitivity for propazine (detection limit: 0.02 μg/L) at lower cross-reactivity to terbuthylazine and atrazine compared to clone 4A54. Affinity constants of both Mabs towards several triazines have been calculated. The application of both Mabs for the analysis of triazines in water samples of different origin has been tested and their resistance towards humic acid influence could be shown. A good correlation of the analysis of water samples with GC and ELISA was observed.     

Improving the Detectability of Sequential Injection Chromatography (SIC): Determination of Triazines by Exploiting Liquid Core Waveguide (LCW) Detection

Coupling a liquid core waveguide cell to a sequential injection chromatograph improved the detection limits for determination of triazine herbicides without compromising peak resolution. Separation of simazine, atrazine, and propazine was achieved in water samples by a 25 mm long C₁₈ monolithic column. Detection was made at 238 nm using a type II LCW (silica capillary coated with Teflon® AF2400) cell with 100 cm of optical path length. Detection limits for simazine, atrazine, and propazine were 2.3, 1.9, and 4.5 µg L^?1, respectively. Reduced analysis time and low solvent consumption are other remarkable features of the proposed method.     

Development of Polarization Fluoroimmunoassay for the Detection of s-Triazine Herbicides

Abstract

A rapid, non-isotopic polarization fluoroimmunoassay (PFIA) for the monitoring of the simazine (striazine herbicide) level in water was developed. Polyclonal antiserum was raised in rabbits by immunization with simazine – Keyhole Limpet Haemocyanin conjugate. Sensitivity of the PFIA with the use of heterologous tracer with the shortest bridge between antigen and fluorescein proved to be the highest. All analytical criteria for PFIA were satisfied. The detection limit of simazine (3 ng/ml in 50 μl of sample) was comparable to that for liquid or gas chromatography method. The detection limit of ELISA using the same antiserum and conjugate derivative of atrazine with horseradish peroxidase was 0.1 ng/mL of simazine. The cross-reactivity for PFIA with widely used s-triazine herbicides: atrazine, propazine, terbuthylazine was 100%, 32% and 20%, respectively. The cross-reactivity for PFIA with some metabolites of s-triazines and other herbicides was negligible.     

Development of a highly sensitive enzyme-immunoassay for the determination of triazine herbicides

A monoclonal antibody (Mab) with extraordinary sensitivity and high class selectivity to triazine herbicides is described. With an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Mab 4A54 IC₅₀ values for terbuthylazine, atrazine, propazine and simazine below 0.1 μg/L (the EU maximum admissible concentration for individual pesticides) have been obtained. Detection limits of 0.004 μg/L for terbuthylazine, 0.006 μg/L for atrazine, 0.003 μg/L for propazine, 0.01 μg/L for simazine and 0.05 μg/L for deethylterbuthylazine could be achieved. Therefore, Mab 4A54 allows a sum screening of these five triazines in a relevant concentration range. To our knowledge, this is the most sensitive antibody to terbuthylazine at all and also the most sensitive Mab to all these four triazines. Another monoclonal antibody resulting from the same immunization, clone 4A118, exhibits best sensitivity for propazine (detection limit: 0.02 μg/L) at lower cross-reactivity to terbuthylazine and atrazine compared to clone 4A54. Affinity constants of both Mabs towards several triazines have been calculated. The application of both Mabs for the analysis of triazines in water samples of different origin has been tested and their resistance towards humic acid influence could be shown. A good correlation of the analysis of water samples with GC and ELISA was observed. Received: 17 February 1997 / Revised: 1 April 1997 / Accepted: 3 April 1997     

Determination of triazine herbicides in human body fluids by solid-phase microextraction and capillary gas chromatography

Summary Eight triazine herbicides, prometon, propazine, atrazine, simazine, prometryn, ametryn, metribuzin, and cyanazine, have been extracted from human whole blood and urine samples by headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with a polydimethylsiloxane-coated fiber and quantified by capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection. Extraction efficiencies for all compounds were 0.21–0.99% for whole blood, except for cyanazine (0.06%). For urine, the extraction efficiencies for prometon, propazine, atrazine, prometryn and ametryn were 13.6–38.1%, and those of simazine, metribuzin and cyanazine were 1.35–8.73%. The regression equations for the compounds extracted from whole blood were linear within the concentration ranged 0.01–1 μg (0.5 mL)⁻¹ for prometon, propazine, atrazine, prometryn, and ametryn, and 0.02–1 μg (0.5 mL)⁻¹ for simazine, metribuzin, and cyanazine. For urine, regression equations for all compounds were linear within the concentration range 0.005–0.25 μg mL⁻¹. Compound detection limits were 2.8–9.0 ng (0.5 mL)⁻¹ and 0.4–2.0 ng mL⁻¹ for whole blood and urine, respectively. The coefficients of within-day and day-to-day variation were satisfactory for all the compounds, and not greater than 10.3 and 14.2%, respectively. Data obtained from determination of atrazine in rat whole blood after oral administration of the compound are also presented.     

Determination of chloro-s-triazines including didealkylatrazine using solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Chloro-s-triazines are a class of compounds comprising atrazine, simazine, propazine, cyanazine and their chlorinated metabolites. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that selected chloro-s-triazines--atrazine, simazine, propazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine, and didealkylatrazine--have a common mode of toxicity related to endocrine disruption. In this paper, a dual-resin solid-phase extraction (SPE) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method is reported that provides for each of these chloro-s-triazines including the polar metabolite, didealkylatrazine. The method utilizes deuterated internal standards for quantitation and terbuthylazine as a recovery standard. The limit-of-detection was 0.01 microg/L for simazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine and didealkylatrazine, and 0.02 microg/L for atrazine and propazine in surface water. Mean recoveries for 0.5 and 3.0 microg/L spikes for atrazine, simazine, propazine, deethylatrazine, deisopropylatrazine and didealkylatrazine were 94, 104, 103, 110, 108 and 102%, respectively, in surface water. The method was also validated by matrix spikes into fourteen different raw and treated natural surface waters. This method is useful for monitoring "total chloro-s-triazines" in both raw and treated drinking waters.     

Microextraction by packed sorbent liquid chromatography with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry of triazines employing a molecularly imprinted polymer†

Molecularly imprinted polymers for the determination of triazines were synthesized by precipitation using atrazine as template, methacrylic acid as functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker, and 2,2′‐azobisisobutrynitrile as initiator. The polymers were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy and packed in a device for microextraction by packed sorbent aiming for the preconcentration/cleanup of herbicides, such as atrazine, simazine, simetryn, ametryn, and terbutryn in corn samples. Liquid chromatography coupled with time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was used for the separation and determination of the herbicides. The selectivity coefficient of molecularly imprinted polymers was compared with that of nonimprinted polymer for the binary mixtures of atrazine/propanil and atrazine/picloram, and the values obtained were 15.6 and 2.96, respectively. The analytical curve ranged from 10 to 80 μg/kg (r = 0.989) and the limits of detection and quantification in the corn matrices were 3.3 and 10 μg/kg, respectively. Intra‐ and interday precisions were < 14.8% and accuracy was better than 90.9% for all herbicides. Polymer synthesis was successfully applied to the cleanup and preconcentration of triazines from fortified corn samples with 91.1–109.1% of recovery.     

Determination of Triazines and N-Methylcarbamate Pesticides in Water by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection

A rapid and selective method for the simultaneous determination of triazine herbicides (atrazine, its degradation product desethylatrazine, simazine, prometryn, terbutryn) and N-methylcarbamate insecticides (propoxur, carbaryl and methiocarb) in surface water has been developed. A 0.5 L of the water sample was preconcentrated by passage through a 1 g C₁₈ solid-phase extraction cartridge. The retained compounds were eluted with 5 mL of methanol from the cartridge. The pesticides were separated and quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV diode-array detection. Analytical separation was performed using a concave gradient elution with acetonitrile and water on a C₁₈ column. Prometryn and terbutryn were determined at 240 nm; propoxur, methiocarb at 204 nm and the others at 220 nm. Recoveries varied from 85 to 102% over concentrations at 0.025 and 0.2 µg L^?1. The limits of detection for the compounds investigated are in the range of 0.005-0.012 µg L^?1.     

CZE separation of amitrol and triazine herbicides in environmental water samples with acid-assisted on-column preconcentration

A simple analytical scheme for the detection and quantification of amitrol and triazine herbicides (atrazine, ametryn and atraton) and degradation product (2‐hydroxyatrazine) in environmental water samples by CZE is reported. On‐column preconcentration of analytes from untreated water samples (mineral, spring, tap and river water) is accomplished by introducing an acid plug (200 mM citrate of pH 2.0) after the sample and then proceeding with the CZE separation, using 100 mM formiate buffer of pH 3.5 as running buffer and 25.0 KV as separation voltage. UV detection at 200 nm provides LODs from 50 to 300 nM in untreated samples and they were lowered tenfold by sample preconcentration by evaporation. Calculated recoveries were typically higher than 90%. Minimal detectable concentration of the electroactive amitrol could be decreased about 20‐fold when electrochemical detection was employed by monitoring the amperometric signal at +800 mV using a carbon paste electrode (LOD of 9.6 nM, 0.81 μg/L, versus 170 nM, 14.3 μg/L, using amperometric and UV detection, respectively) in untreated water samples.     

Molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled to micellar electrokinetic chromatography for simultaneous determination of triazines in soil, fruit, and vegetable samples

A simple and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of four triazines from soil, strawberry, and tomato samples was developed by selective molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion (MI-MSPD) coupled to micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). Using atrazine as template, the synthesized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were employed as the dispersion sorbent of MSPD to successfully extract atrazine and its analogs of simazine, ametryn, and propazine from the three different real samples, while matrix interferences were effectively eliminated simultaneously under the optimum extraction conditions. Excellent separation was achieved within 7 min by using an optimized buffer system composed of 30 mmol/L ammonium acetate, 20 mmol/L SDS, and 15% ACN at pH 9.45, obtained by orthogonal design. Good linearity was obtained in a range of 0.5-25 μg/g with the correlation coefficients R(2) ≥0.9991 except for strawberry sample within 1-25 μg/g, and limits of detection were between 12.9-31.5 ng/g in all the three samples. The average recoveries of the four triazines at three different spiked levels were ranged from 53.5 to 98.4% with the relative standard deviations of 1.28-4.89%. This method was proved convenient, costeffective, and environmental benign and could be used as an alternative tool to the existing methods for analyzing the residues of triazines in soil, fruit, and vegetable samples.