Off-Line and On-Line Preconcentration Techniques for the Determination of Phenylureas in Freshwaters

Abstract

Phenylurea herbicides are analysed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography using UV detection at 244 nm after a concentration step in order to determine ppb or sub-ppb levels in drinking and river waters. With an average UV detection limit of 5 ng, a 500 ml sample volume is necessary to reach the 10 ppt level for spiked LC grade water samples and enables easy determination of concentrations below the ppb level for river water samples. Off-line and on-line methods are compared for the concentration step. Off-line concentration consists in a liquid sorption on n-octadecyl silica (C18) and elution by a suitable organic solvent. Polar phenylureas have low retention volumes on C18 silica and consequently the length of the concentration column has to be 10 cm to concentrate them at the ppb level from 100 ml of water and longer for lower levels of detection. Nevertheless, we show that increasing the size of the concentration column does not improve the limits of detection because of the numerous interferences also concentrated when percolating high volumes of water. On-line technology can be used only with short precolumns and requires a sorbent with a great retention for phenylureas. The copolymer-based PRP-1 is found to be an excellent sorbent and it is then possible to apply on-line precolumn technology with preconcentration through two precolumns (10 × 21 mm ID) in series, the first one being packed with C18 silica and the other with the PRP-1 polymer. Interfering compounds are then trapped onto the first precolumn acting as a filter and common phenylurea-breakthrough volumes on the PRP-1 precolumn are higher than 500 ml. Knowing the amounts preconcentrated on both precolumns and using UV and electrochemical detection help the identification of phenylureas in river water.     

High‐Level Incorporation of Silver in Gold Nanoclusters: Fluorescence Redshift upon Interaction with Hydrogen Peroxide and Fluorescence Enhancement with Herbicide

High‐level incorporation of Ag in Au nanoclusters (NCs) is conveniently achieved by controlling the concentration of Ag⁺ in the synthesis of bovine serum albumin (BSA)‐protected Au NCs, and the resulting structure is determined to be bimetallic Ag₂₈Au₁₀‐BSA NCs through a series of characterizations including energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, together with density functional theory simulations. Interestingly, the Ag₂₈Au₁₀ NCs exhibit a significant fluorescence redshift rather than quenching upon interaction with hydrogen peroxide, providing a new approach to the detection of hydrogen peroxide through direct comparison of their fluorescence peaks. Furthermore, the Ag₂₈Au₁₀ NCs are also used for the sensitive and selective detection of herbicide through fluorescence enhancement. The detection limit for herbicide (0.1 nm ) is far below the health value established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; such sensitive detection was not achieved by using AuAg NCs with low‐level incorporation of Ag or by using the individual metal NCs.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定人参中磺酰脲类除草剂残留量

建立了人参中15种磺酰脲类除草剂残留量的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)检测方法。样品中残留的农药经乙腈提取、石墨化炭黑(ENVI-Carbon)固相萃取柱净化后,使用含1%(v/v)甲酸的甲醇-二氯甲烷(20:80, v/v)洗脱,UPLC分离,最后采用电喷雾串联质谱在正离子多反应监测(MRM)扫描模式下进行测定。15种农药在2～100 μg/L的质量浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数在0.996和0.999之间。对人参中15种农药在5、25和50 μg/kg 3个添加水平下的回收率进行了测定,其平均回收率在84.9%和104.3%之间,相对标准偏差在2.4%和11.9%之间。各种农药的定量限均为5 μg/kg。该方法操作简便,净化效果好,灵敏度、准确度和精密度均符合多残留检测技术的要求,可为中药材中磺酰脲类除草剂污染状况调查提供检测方法支持。     

磺酰脲类化合物在水稻田中的除草性能

水稻是我国重要的粮食作物,但杂草对水稻的产量和品质产生了严重影响。 化学防除是治理水稻田杂草最有效的途径。 文中设计合成了苯环2,6-取代和2,5-取代两个系列磺酰脲类化合物,并通过核磁共振波谱仪(NMR)和高分辨质谱仪(HRMS)等对其进行了结构表征。 通过水稻田除草活性和安全性测试发现化合物在水稻田中具有较好的除草活性,尤其是化合物10a对水稻田中的主要杂草稗草和醴肠除草活性(目测初筛防效大于90%)优于对照药醚苯磺隆和氯磺隆,安全性与之相当。     

Pseudilins: Halogenated,Allosteric Inhibitors of the Non‐Mevalonate Pathway Enzyme IspD

The enzymes of the non‐mevalonate pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis have been identified as attractive targets with novel modes of action for the development of herbicides for crop protection and agents against infectious diseases. This pathway is present in many pathogenic organisms and plants, but absent in mammals. By using high‐throughput screening, we identified highly halogenated marine natural products, the pseudilins, to be inhibitors of the third enzyme, IspD, in the pathway. Their activity against the IspD enzymes from Arabidopsis thaliana and Plasmodium vivax was determined in photometric and NMR‐based assays. Cocrystal structures revealed that pseudilins bind to an allosteric pocket by using both divalent metal ion coordination and halogen bonding. The allosteric mode of action for preventing cosubstrate (CTP) binding at the active site was elucidated. Pseudilins show herbicidal activity in plant assays and antiplasmodial activity in cell‐based assays.     

Determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides in tea by matrix solid‐phase dispersion cleanup followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

Matrix solid‐phase dispersion combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed as a new sample pretreatment method for the determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides (chlorsulfuron, bensulfuron‐methyl, chlorimuron‐ethyl, and pyrazosulfuron) in tea by high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The extraction and cleanup by matrix solid‐phase dispersion was carried out by using CN‐silica as dispersant and carbon nanotubes as cleanup sorbent eluted with acidified dichloromethane. The eluent of matrix solid‐phase dispersion was evaporated and redissolved in 0.5 mL methanol, and used as the dispersive solvent of the following dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction procedure for further purification and enrichment of the target analytes before high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis. Under the optimum conditions, the method yielded a linear calibration curve in the concentration range from 5.0 to 10 000 ng/g for target analytes with a correlation coefficients (r²) ranging from 0.9959 to 0.9998. The limits of detection for the analytes were in the range of 1.31–2.81 ng/g. Recoveries of the four sulfonylurea herbicides at two fortification levels were between 72.8 and 110.6% with relative standard deviations lower than 6.95%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of four sulfonylurea herbicides in several tea samples.     

分子印迹固相萃取-液相色谱质谱联用对4种磺酰脲类除草剂残留的测定

采用苄嘧磺隆分子印迹固相萃取柱(MISPE)对加标大米中的苄嘧磺隆、甲磺隆、苯磺隆和烟嘧磺隆4种磺酰脲类除草剂进行净化和富集预处理,并采用LC-MS方法进行定量分析.质谱条件为:正离子检测模式(M+H),检测质量范围为m/z 200 ～800 ,毛细管电压3.93 kV,锥孔电压20 V,脱溶剂温度250 ℃,辅助气流速4 L/min.4种磺酰脲类除草剂在0.01 ～0.70 mg·L~(-1)范围内线性良好.回收率为68% ～100%,表明样品液中的烟嘧磺隆、甲磺隆、苯磺隆和苄嘧磺隆能直接被分子印迹固相萃取柱中的印迹位点保留,而杂质几乎不被保留.分子印迹固相萃取柱对磺酰脲类除草剂表现出良好的识别性能.     

Imidazolinone herbicides in strongly acidic media: Speciation and electroreduction

From UV-visible measurements and potentiometric titrations it follows that the lowest pK values (pK₁) of imidazolinone herbicides correspond to the simultaneous protonation/dissociation equilibria of both the pyridinic (or quinolinic) nitrogen and the carboxyl group, the following pK (pK₂) to the imminium nitrogen and the basic pK (pK₃) to the dissociation of the imido nitrogen. Below pH 6 and down to pH c.a. 2.5, the dominant form of the herbicide is a double ion having both positive and negative charges, this being important in discussing the effect of pH in the natural dynamics of imidazolinone herbicides, especially in their soil sorption. Electrochemical studies of the reduction of the herbicides were made on mercury and carbon electrodes in strongly acidic media (0.1 to 2.7 M H₂SO₄) as well up to pH 7. The reduction signals were all attributed to the reduction of the imidazolinone ring except the second peak/wave that was found to have originated by the reduction of the pyridine/quinoline ring. A signal observed in strongly acidic media and at highly negative overpotentials was attributed to the reduction of the imidazolinone ring of the product of the previous reduction in a process consisting of two reversible electron transfers followed by a protonation reaction.     

Synthesis and Pesticidal Properties of Thio and Seleno Analogs of Some Common Urea Herbicides

Thio and seleno analogs of fenuron, isoproturon, chlorotoluron, metoxuron, monuron, and diuron were synthesized from the corresponding aryl amines. Their reaction with thiophosgene leads to isothiocyanates. Aryl amines were also converted (via isocyanides) to isoselenocyanates. The reaction of both isothio- and isoselenocyanates with dimethylamine affords the corresponding thio and seleno analogs of the above-mentioned urea herbicides. Herbicidal activity of the synthesized compounds was slightly lower than the activity of the parent urea herbicides. The thio and seleno analogs as well as the parent ureas showed good fungicidal activity at a concentration of 200 ppm against selected fungi.