Resolution of overlapped peaks in liquid chromatography by use of derivative spectrophotometry and multivariate analysis and its application in the determination of active components in insecticide formulations

Two procedures for the determination of active components in insecticide formulations have been devised. The first is based in the use of derivative spectra of the components obtained by a diode-array spectrophotomer around the maxima signal of the chromatographic peak. In the second method, mixtures are resolved by the partial least-squares (PLS) regression method from standard spectra of the pure components; spectra of the components were also registered around the maxima signal of the peak. Both procedures have been applied to the analysis of diverse mixtures of active components (piperonyl butoxide, neopynamine and fenitrothion) in insecticide formulations with satisfactory results.