Salt‐assisted acetonitrile extraction and HPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS detection for residues of multiple classes of pesticides in human serum samples

Detecting pesticide residues in human serum is a challenging process. In this study we developed and validated a method for the extraction and recovery of residues of multiple classes of pesticides from serum using one reagent. Salt‐assisted acetonitrile extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry were used to quantitate 34 pesticides classified in nine groups of chemicals in human serum samples, which are frequently detected in food. The recoveries for 33 of analyzed pesticides ranged from 86 to 112% with relative standard deviations below 15%. The limits of quantitation and linearity of 31 of the pesticides were 1 µg/L and >0.990, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation has been reported in the literature particularly for multi‐classes pesticide mixtures in human serum. The salt–acetonitrile reagent was allowed to achieve good recoveries and detection limits, which could be attributed to salt altering the solvent polarity, preferentially collecting the organic phase in the solution, and promoting the extraction. The developed method was applied for two organophosphate pesticide metabolites, diethylphosphate and 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol, in serum from rats that were fed a nonlethal quantity of chlorpyrifos. The concentrations of these two were 252.18 ± 15.47 and 0.63 ± 0.23 µg/L, respectively.     

Ionic‐liquid‐functionalized zinc oxide nanoparticles for the solid‐phase extraction of triazine herbicides in corn prior to high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have recently been used as effective adsorbent materials for sample pretreatment in analytical chemistry because of their excellent properties, such as high specific surface area, high effective porosity, non‐toxicity, and ease of fabrication. In this study, the zinc oxide nanoparticles functionalized by an ionic liquid, 1‐carboxyethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride, were fabricated and used as the adsorbent for the solid phase extraction of five triazine herbicides in corn for the first time. High‐performance liquid chromatography was employed for the determination of these triazine herbicides. Several experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated, including the volume of extraction solvent, the extraction time, the type of extraction solvent and elution solvent, the amount of absorbent, and the volume of elution solvent. By using the proposed method, low limits of detection and quantification for all the five triazine herbicides were obtained between 0.71–1.08 and 2.67–3.64 ng/g, respectively. Recoveries of the proposed method range from 89.05 to 100.33% with intra‐ and inter‐day relative standard deviations lower than 8.45%. The calibration curves are linear in the concentration range of 0.005–1.00 μg/g with the correlation coefficient higher than 0.9954.     

Simultaneous determination of 106 pesticides in nuts by LC–MS/MS using freeze‐out combined with dispersive solid‐phase extraction purification

As a result of the low water content and high fat matrices in nuts, it is very difficult to simultaneously determine multi‐pesticides in trace levels. Here, a sample pretreatment method was developed in which, microwave‐assisted solvent extraction was firstly used to extract pesticides, and then a two‐step cleanup method was conducted combining freeze‐out with dispersive solid‐phase extraction to remove the lipidic matrix. By this way, 106 pesticides were simultaneously determined in the complicated nut sample by using an ultra‐high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer. Average recoveries were 75.3–119.3% with relative standard deviations < 14% at three concentration levels. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.3–3.0 and 1.0–10.0 μg/kg, respectively. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the determination of pesticides in 180 commercial nut samples.     

Rapid high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for simultaneous measurement of venlafaxine and O‐desmethylvenlafaxine in human plasma and its application in comparative bioavailability study

A rapid high‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for simultaneous measurement of venlafaxine and O‐desmethylvenlafaxine in human plasma using fluoxetine as an internal standard. In the liquid–liquid extraction method, compounds and internal standard were extracted from plasma using methyl tertiary butyl ether as an extraction solvent. The HPLC separation of the analytes was performed on a Zorbax SB‐C₁₈, 50 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm column, using a isocratic elution program using a mobile phase consisting of HPLC‐grade methanol: 5 mm ammonium acetate (80:20 v/v) at a flow‐rate of 1.0 mL/min with a total runtime of 3.0 min. The proposed method has been validated with a linear range of 4–400 ng/mL for venlafaxine and 5–500 ng/mL for O‐desmethyl venlafaxine. The method was applied for a bio‐equivalence study of 75 mg tablets formulation in 32 Indian male healthy subjects under fasting conditions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of trace polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in water samples through large‐volume stir bar sorptive extraction method with thermal desorption gas chromatography

A fast and sensitive analytical method based on stir bar sorptive extraction technology with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed to simultaneously analyze 18 kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls and 20 kinds of organochlorine pesticides in aqueous samples. A long adsorption time and small sample volume, which are problems encountered in conventional methods of stir bar sorptive extraction, were effectively solved by simultaneously using multiple stir bars for enrichment with sequential cryofocusing and merged injection. Optimized results showed good linear coefficients in the range of 10–500 ng/L and the method detection limits of 0.12–2.07 ng/L for polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides. The recovery ratios of the spiked samples at different concentrations were between 64.7 and 111.0%, and their relative standard deviations ranged from 0.9 to 17.6%. Four types of the studied compounds were determined in Qiantang River water samples, and their contents were between 0.82 and 5.00 ng/L.     

A three‐phase solvent extraction system combined with deep eutectic solvent‐based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for extraction of some organochlorine pesticides in cocoa samples prior to gas chromatography with electron capture detection

A sample pretreatment method based on the combination of a three‐phase solvent extraction system and deep eutectic solvent‐based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been introduced for the extraction of four organochlorine pesticides in cocoa samples before their determination by gas chromatography‐electron capture detection. A mixture of sodium chloride, acetonitrile, and potassium hydroxide solution is added to cocoa bean or powder. After vortexing and centrifugation of the mixture, the collected upper phase (acetonitrile) is removed and mixed with a few microliters of N,N‐diethanol ammonium chloride: pivalic acid deep eutectic solvent. Then it is rapidly injected into deionized water and a cloudy solution is obtained. Under optimum conditions, the limits of detection and quantification were found to be 0.011‐0.031 and 0.036‐0.104 ng/g, respectively. The obtained extraction recoveries varied between 74 and 92%. Also, intra‐ (n = 6) and interday (n = 4) precisions were less than or equal to 7.1% for the studied pesticides at a concentration of 0.3 ng/g of each analyte. The suggested method was applied to determine the studied organochlorine pesticide residues in various cocoa powders and beans gathered from groceries in Tabriz city (Iran) and aldrin and dichlobenil were found in some of them.     

Polypyrrole‐magnetite dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction combined with ultraviolet‐visible spectrophotometry for the determination of rhodamine 6G and crystal violet in textile wastewater

Polypyrrole‐magnetite dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction method combined with ultraviolet‐visible spectrophotometry was developed for the determination of selected cationic dyes in textile wastewater. Polypyrrole‐magnetite was used as adsorbent due to its thermal stability, magnetic properties, and ability to adsorb Rhodamine 6G and crystal violet. Dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction parameters were optimized, including sample pH, adsorbent amount, extraction time, and desorption solvent. The optimum polypyrrole‐magnetite dispersive micro‐solid phase‐extraction conditions were sample pH 8, 60 mg polypyrrole‐magnetite adsorbent, 5 min of extraction time, and acetonitrile as the desorption solvent. Under the optimized conditions, the polypyrrole‐magnetite dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction with ultraviolet‐visible method showed good linearity in the range of 0.05–7 mg/L (R ² > 0.9980). The method also showed a good limit of detection for the dyes (0.05 mg/L) and good analyte recoveries (97.4–111.3%) with relative standard deviations < 10%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of dyes in textile wastewater samples where the concentration found was 1.03 mg (RSD ±7.9%) and 1.13 mg/L (RSD ± 4.6%) for Rhodamine 6G and crystal violet, respectively. It can be concluded that this method can be adopted for the rapid extraction and determination of dyes at trace concentration levels.     

Determination of multi‐class antibiotic residues in compost by microwave‐enhanced accelerated solvent extraction and ultra performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

This work reports the development and application of a multi‐class compound analysis method for the determination of 20 antibiotic residues in compost. Samples were processed by microwave‐enhanced accelerated solvent extraction at 120°C for 7.5 min. Salting‐out homogeneous liquid‐liquid extraction was used to remove water and water‐soluble impurities from the extract before ultra performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis. By using the supercritical fluid (carbon dioxide) and organic solvent (methanol) as the mobile phase, the 20 antibiotics and the internal standard were well separated in 8.2 min without obvious matrix effect. Method validation was performed and good trueness (relative error in the range of ±5.0%) and precision (inter‐ and intraday relative standard deviations < 10.8%) were obtained. Method detection and quantitation limits were 0.8–1.9 and 2.7–7.1 ng/g, respectively. Recoveries were assessed at three concentration levels (10, 60, and 400 ng/g) and acceptable mean values (70.4–111.9%) were found. This method has also been used to analyze real samples, and the average concentrations of antibiotics (excepting the concentrations < method quantitation limits) were determined up to 123.6 ng/g. The results showed the method could be helpful for the analysis of multi‐class antibiotics in environmental samples.     

Multiresidue determination of 114 multiclass pesticides in flue‐cured tobacco by solid‐phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and robust multiresidue method for the simultaneous analysis of 114 pesticides in tobacco was developed based on solid‐phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. In this strategy, tobacco samples were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up with a multilayer solid‐phase extraction cartridge Cleanert TPT using acetonitrile/toluene (3:1) as the elution solvent. Two internal standards of different polarity were used to meet simultaneous pesticides quantification demands in the tobacco matrix. Satisfactory linearity in the range of 10–500 ng/mL was obtained for all 114 pesticides with linear regression coefficients higher than 0.994. The limit of detection and limit of quantification values were 0.02–5.27 and 0.06–17.6 ng/g, respectively. For most of the pesticides, acceptable recoveries in the range of 70–120% and repeatabilities (relative standard deviation) of <11% were achieved at spiking levels of 20, 100, and 400 ng/g. Compared with the reported multiresidue analytical method, the proposed method provided a cleaner test solution with smaller amounts of pigments, fatty acids as well as other undesirable interferences. The development and validation of the high sensitivity, high selectivity, easy automation, and high‐throughput analytical method meant that it could be successfully used for the determination of pesticides in tobacco samples.     

Magnetic amino‐functionalized hollow silica‐titania microsphere as an efficient sorbent for extraction of pesticides in green and roasted coffee beans

This study describes the synthesis and application of a magnetic amino‐functionalized hollow silica‐titania microsphere as a new sorbent for magnetic dispersive micro‐solid phase extraction of selected pesticides in coffee bean samples. The sorbent was fully characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transition electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques. Significant extraction parameters affecting the proposed method, such as extraction time, sorbent amount, sample solution pH, salt amount, and desorption conditions (desorption solvent and time) were investigated and optimized. All the figures of merits were validated in coffee bean samples under the matrix‐matched calibration method. Linear dynamic ranges were 5–250 µg/kg with the determination coefficients (R²) > 0.9980. The limits of detection for the pesticides of chlorpyrifos, malathion, hexaconazole, and atrazine were 1.42, 1.43, 1.35, and 1.33 µg/kg, respectively. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the determination of the pesticides in green and roasted coffee bean samples, and the obtained recoveries were in the range of 74–113% for spiked samples. The prepared sorbent could be used for the magnetic dispersive micro‐solid phase extraction of pesticides in the plant‐derived food matrix.     

Evaluation of solid‐phase extraction procedures for the quantitation of venlafaxine in human saliva by high‐performance liquid chromatography

In recent years, the use of human saliva for diagnostic purposes has evoked great interest. Thus, the aim of this study was to choose the optimal solid‐phase extraction cartridges and extraction solvents for the quantitation of venlafaxine in saliva. Blank saliva samples spiked with venlafaxine concentrations between 25 and 750 ng/mL were analyzed using five solid‐phase extraction columns (C18, C8, Strata‐X, Strata‐X‐C, and Strata‐X‐AW), washing solvents (deionized water, phosphate buffer at pH 5.5, and their mixtures with methanol), and elution solvents (methanol, acetonitrile, and their mixtures with 25% ammonia). A high‐performance liquid chromatography system was used to quantify venlafaxine in saliva. The results of this study revealed that nine of 25 procedures enabled quantitation of venlafaxine in the tested concentration range. The procedure that used a C18 cartridge, a mixture of methanol and deionized water as the washing solvent, and methanol as the elution solvent was the most effective and allowed quantitation of all venlafaxine concentrations with an acceptable recovery. In contrast, the Strata‐X‐C cartridge could not detect venlafaxine at the lowest concentration (25 ng/mL). The data acquired from the high‐performance liquid chromatography system were confirmed by a multivariate data analysis.     

Ultrasound‐assisted extraction and solid‐phase extraction as a cleanup procedure for organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls determination in aquatic samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

The feasibility of developing a quick, easy, efficient procedure for the simultaneous determination of organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in aquatic samples using gas chromatography with electron capture detection based on solid‐phase extraction was investigated. The extraction solvent (n‐hexane/acetone, cyclohexane/ethyl acetate, n‐hexane/dichloromethane, n‐hexane) for ultrasound‐assisted solid–liquid extraction and solid‐phase extraction columns (florisil, neutral alumina, acidic alumina, aminopropyl trimethoxy silane, propyl ethylenediamine, aminopropyl trimethoxy silane/propyl ethylenediamine, graphitized carbon black and silica) for cleanup procedure were optimized. The gas chromatography with electron capture detection method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and recovery. Mean recoveries ranged from 75 to 115% with relative standard deviations <13%. Quantification limits were 0.20–0.40 ng/g for organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. The satisfactory data demonstrated the good reproducibility of the method with relative standard deviations lower than 13%. In comparison to other related methods, this method requires less time and solvent and allows for rapid isolation of the target analytes with high selectivity. This method therefore allows for the screening of numerous samples and can also be used for routine analyses.     

Separation and determination of ciprofloxacin in seawater,human blood plasma and tablet samples using molecularly imprinted polymer pipette‐tip solid phase extraction and its optimization by response surface methodology

By synthesizing a molecular imprinted polymer as an efficient adsorbent, ciprofloxacin was micro‐extracted from seawater, human blood plasma and tablet samples by pipette‐tip micro solid phase extraction and determined spectrophotometrically. Response surface methodology was applied with central composite design to build a model based on factors affecting on microextraction of ciprofloxacin; including volume of eluent solvent, number of extraction cycles, number of elution cycles, and pH of sample. Other factors that affect extraction efficiency, such as type of eluent solvent, volume of sample, type, and amount of salt were optimized with one‐variable‐at‐a‐time method. Under optimum extraction condition, pH of sample solution was 7.0, volume of eluent solvent (methanol) was 200 µL, volume of sample solution was 10 mL, and the number of extraction and elution cycles was five and seven, respectively, amount of Na₂SO₄ (as salt) and MIP (as sorbent) were optimized at 150 and 2 mg, respectively. The linear range of the suggested method under optimum extraction factors was 5–150 µg/L with a limit of detection of 1.50 µg/L for the analyte. Reproducibility of the method (as relative standard deviation) was better than 7%.     

An efficient cleanup method coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for multi‐pesticides residue analysis in complex plant matrices

We aimed to develop an efficient cleanup method for multi‐pesticides residue analysis in complex plant matrices, shallot, ginger, garlic, onion, leek, and celery. Column chromatography was used as the cleanup method and fabricated with florisil and graphitized carbon black as the adsorbents. The amount of the graphitized carbon black adsorbent and the choice of the elution solvent were systematically investigated for exploring the best combination. The target pesticides covered organochlorine, pyrethroid, and organophosphorus pesticides, and were 38 in total. The method validation and comparison were performed to verify its feasibility and advantages in operation convenience and purification efficiency. The method limit of quantitation varied from 0.01 to 0.03 mg/kg, which depends on the pesticides and the sample matrices. The recoveries of the pesticides ranged from 60.5 to 128% (RSD ≤ 19.0%) at the spiked concentration level of 0.01 (or 0.03) mg/kg and 62.9 to 130% (RSD ≤ 13.0%) at 0.1 mg/kg. Compared with the commercial cleanup solid‐phase extraction cartridges, the present adsorbent combination displayed better purification effect and shorter sample pretreatment time, demonstrating potential application prospect in the complex matrix sample analysis.     

A hybrid triazine‐imine core‐shell magnetic covalent organic polymer for analysis of pesticides in fruit samples by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A novel hybrid triazine‐imine core‐shell magnetic covalent organic polymer with high adsorption capacity and excellent stability was fabricated by surface‐assisted in situ growth technique. The composite possesses porous and extended π‐conjugated system, and was applied as the magnetic sorbent for efficient enrichment and rapid separation of pesticides. A new analytical method for simultaneous determination of eight pesticides in fruit samples was developed by magnetic solid phase extraction combined with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The effect of extraction time, desorption time, and the type of desorption solvent on the extraction efficiency were evaluated. The established method shows good repeatability and high sensitivity. The repeatability of this method was estimated with relative standard deviations in the range of 0.7–7.0% (n = 5) for the same batch, and 1.7–10% (n = 3) for batch to batch. Good linearity for eight pesticides was obtained with coefficient of determination in the range of 0.9942–0.9990. Limit of detections ranged from 0.4 to 1.2 ng/L. Real sample determination showed that four and two pesticides were detected in strawberry and grape, respectively. The results demonstrated that the established method was efficient, sensitive, and convenient for trace determination of pesticides in fruit samples.     

Fabrication of boronate‐decorated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes grafted cotton fiber for the selective enrichment of nucleosides in urine

Various cotton fiber based boronate‐affinity adsorbents are recently developed for the sample pretreatment of cis‐diol‐containing biomolecules, but most do not have efficient capacity due to limited binding sites on the surface of cotton fibers. To increase the density of boronate groups on the surface of cotton fiber, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes were used to modify cotton fiber to provide plentiful reactive sites for subsequent functionalization with 4‐formylphenylboronic acid. The new adsorbent showed special recognition ability towards cis‐diols and high adsorption capacity (175 μg/g for catechol, 250 μg/g for dopamine, 400 μg/g for adenosine). The in‐pipette‐tip solid‐phase extraction was investigated under different conditions, including pH and ionic strength of solution, adsorbent amount, pipette times, washing solvent, and elution solvent. The in‐pipette‐tip solid‐phase extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was used to analyze four nucleosides in urine samples. Under the optimal extraction conditions, the detection limits were determined to be between 5.1 and 6.1 ng/mL (S/N  =  3), and the linearity ranged from 20 to 500 ng/mL for these analytes. The accuracy of the analytical method was examined by studying the relative recoveries of analytes in real urine samples with recoveries varying from 83 to 104% (RSD = 3.9–10.2%, n = 3).     

Carbon molecular sieve based micro‐matrix‐solid‐phase dispersion for the extraction of polyphenols in pomegranate peel by UHPLC‐Q‐TOF/MS

A rapid, simple, and efficient sample extraction method based on micro‐matrix‐solid‐phase dispersion (micro‐MSPD) was applied to the extraction of polyphenols from pomegranate peel. Five target analytes were determined by ultra‐HPLC coupled with Q‐TOF/MS. Carbon molecular sieve (CMS) was firstly used as dispersant to improve extraction efficiency in micro‐MSPD. The major micro‐MSPD parameters, such as type of dispersant, amount of dispersant, grinding time, and the type and the volume of elution solvents, were studied and optimized. Under optimized conditions, 26 mg of pomegranate peel was dispersed with 32.5 mg of CMS, the grinding time was selected as 90 s, the dispersed sample was eluted with 100 μL of methanol. Results showed that the proposed method was of good linearity for concentrations of analytes against their peak areas (coefficient of determination r² > 0.990), the LOD was as low as 3.2 ng/mL, and the spiking recoveries were between 88.1 and 106%. Satisfactory results were obtained for the extraction of gallic acid, punicalagin A, punicalagin B, catechin, and ellagic acid from pomegranate peel sample, which demonstrated nice reliability and high sensitivity of this approach.     

SPE – Microwave‐assisted extraction coupled system for the extraction of pesticides from water samples

SPE is a commonly applied technique for preconcentration of pesticides from water samples. Microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) technique is the extraction applied for preconcentration of different compounds from solid samples. SPE coupled with MAE is capable of preconcentrating these compounds from water samples too. This investigation was aimed at improving the efficiency of atrazine, alachlor, and α‐cypermethrin pesticide extraction from the spiked water samples applying SPE followed by MAE. In this way, MAE served for elution of pesticides from C₁₈‐extraction disks with solvent heated by microwave energy. Various elution conditions were tested for their effects on the extraction efficiency of the SPE–MAE combined technique. Several parameters, such as elution solvent volume (mL), elution temperature (°C), and duration of elution (min), affect the extraction efficiency of the SPE–MAE coupled system and need to be optimized for the selected pesticides. In order to develop a mathematical model, 15 experiments were performed in the central composite design. The equation was then used to predict recoveries of the pesticides under specific experimental conditions. Optimization of microwave extraction was accomplished using the genetic algorithm approach. Best results were achieved using 20 mL of ethanol at 60°C. Optimal hold time was 5 min and 24 s. The SPE–MAE combination was also compared with the conventional SPE extraction technique with elution of a nonpolar or a moderately polar compound with nonpolar solvents.     

Simple and rapid determination of zaltoprofen in human plasma by manual‐shaking‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A readily applicable method was developed to determine the concentration level of zaltoprofen, a non‐steroidal antiinflammatory drug from the propionic acid family, in human plasma. This method is based on manual‐shaking‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. Factors affecting the extraction efficiency were screened and optimized by experimental design using fractional factorial and central composite designs, respectively. Optimal conditions were: 220 μL of C₂H₄Cl₂ (extraction solvent), 5 mL of 3.75% w/v NaCl aqueous solution at pH 2.0, and manual shaking for 13 s (65 times). The resulting extraction method yielded a reasonable enrichment factor of 18.0 (±0.6, n  = 3) and extraction recovery of 86.0% (±3.3%, n  = 3). The established method was validated for selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, recovery, dilution integrity, and stability, and it met the acceptable criteria for all of the tested parameters. Specifically, the method was linear in the range of 0.16–50.0 mg/L, precise (< 8.8% RSD), accurate (–7.5–5.6% deviation), and showed negligible matrix effects (96.1–106.4%) with high absolute recovery (94.5–97.7%). Compared with previous methods involving labor‐intensive liquid–liquid extraction or non‐specific protein precipitation, our method allows the simple, rapid, and efficient determination of zaltoprofen using the most affordable analytical instrument, liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.     

Electroless‐coated magnetic three‐dimensional graphene with silver nanoparticles used for the determination of pesticides in fruit samples

A new type of adsorbent composed of magnetic three‐dimensional graphene coated with silver nanoparticles was synthesized by an electroless technique and used in the magnetic solid‐phase extraction of selected pesticides (fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos, and hexaconazole) before gas chromatography with a micro‐electron capture detector. The adsorbent was characterized using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry, and field‐emission scanning electron microscopy. The important extraction parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose, extraction time, and desorption conditions were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the analytical figures of merit were obtained as: linear dynamic range of 0.1–5 ng/g with determination coefficients of 0.991–0.996; limit of detection of 0.07–0.13 ng/g; limit of quantification of 0.242–0.448 ng/g; and the intraday and interday relative standard deviations (C = 5 ng/g, n = 3) were 3.8–8.7 and 6.6–8.9%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied for analysis of the selected pesticides in tomato and grape with extraction recoveries in the range of 72.8–109.6%.