High-performance thin-layer chromatographic analysis of selected organophosphorous pesticide residues in tea

The separation of 9 organophosphates (monocrotophos, quinalphos, triazophos, parathion-methyl, isofenphos-methyl, temephos, parathion, phoxim-ethyl, and chlorpyrifos) by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with automated multiple development was studied. The HPTLC method was developed and validated for analysis of residues of phoxim-ethyl and chlorpyrifos in tea. The sample was extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up by ENVI-CARB solid-phase extraction. The extract was directly applied as bands to glass-backed silica gel 60F254 HPTLC plates. The plates were developed with dichloromethane-hexane (1 + 1, v/v) in a glass twin-trough chamber. Evaluation of the developed HPTLC plates was performed densitometrically. The results indicated that the detection limits of phoxim and chlorpyrifos were 5.0 x 10(-9) and 1.0 x 10(-8) g, respectively. Recoveries of the pesticides from tea by this analytical method were 90.7-105.5%, and relative standard deviations were 7.3-13.5%. The precision and accuracy of the method were generally satisfactory for analysis of pesticide residues in tea.