Supercritical fluid extraction and quantitative determination of organophosphorus pesticide residues in wheat and maize using gas chromatography with flame photometric and mass spectrometric detection

An automated method using supercritical CO2 and clean-up by solid-phase extraction (SPE) using graphitized carbon black, has been developed for the quantitative determination of organophosphorus pesticide (OPP) residues in wheat and maize. Recoveries were as good as, or better than, those obtained using liquid extraction (LE) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for 10 OPP's spiked at levels equivalent to 0.05 and 0.50 microg/g. Lower limits of detection were possible using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). Incurred residues were found in wheat and maize samples, and good agreement was obtained using SFE+SPE and LE+GPC. The SFE+SPE method required less analyst time and organic solvent, and hazardous waste was reduced.