Combined solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry used for determination of chloropropanols in water

A sensitive and rapid derivatization method for the simultaneous determination of 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) and 3-chloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) in water samples has been developed. The aim was to research the optimal conditions of the derivatization process for two selected reagents. A central composite design was used to determine the influence of derivatization time, derivatization temperature and reagent volume. A global desirability function was applied for multi-response optimization. The analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. During the optimization of the extraction procedure, four different types of solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns were tested. It was demonstrated that the Oasis HLB cartridge produced the best recoveries of the target analytes. The pH value and the salinity were investigated using a Doehlert design. The best results for the SPE of both analytes were obtained with 1.5 g of NaCl and pH 6. The proposed method provides high sensitivity, good linearity (R(2)≥0.999) and repeatability (relative standard deviations % between 2.9 and 3.4%). Limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 1.4-11.2 ng/mL and 4.8-34.5 ng/mL, respectively. Recoveries obtained for water samples were ca. 100% for 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of different samples including commercially bottled water, an influent and effluent sewage.     

Method development for fingerprinting of biodiesel blends by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method based on the combination of solid-phase extraction (SPE) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for detailed chemical fingerprinting of biodiesel/petrodiesel blends was developed in the present study. Forensic identification, commonly referred to as chemical fingerprinting, is based on the relative distributions of individual aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, fatty acid alkyl esters, and free sterols. Fractionation of fuel samples is optimized for the separation of fatty acid esters and free sterols from petroleum hydrocarbons into four fractions: aliphatic, aromatic, fatty acid ester, and polar components. The final recoveries of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were determined to be in the range of 65-103%, 73-105% for FAMEs, and 78-103% for free sterols in the polar fraction. Excellent separation with negligible crossover of components with different polarities between fractions was observed. Quantitative analysis of blend levels and individual chemical distribution were achieved. The method has great potential for the identification of biodiesel in diesel fuel blends and could form the basis of a method for characterization of biodiesel-contaminated environmental samples.     

Simultaneous determination of three organophosphorus pesticides in different food commodities by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective gas chromatography with mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of three organophosphorus pesticides, namely, chlorpyrifos, malathion, and diazinon in three different food commodities (milk, apples, and drinking water) employing solid‐phase extraction for sample pretreatment. Pesticide extraction from different sample matrices was carried out on Chromabond C₁₈ cartridges using 3.0 mL of methanol and 3.0 mL of a mixture of dichloromethane/acetonitrile (1:1 v/v) as the eluting solvent. Analysis was carried out by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry using selected‐ion monitoring mode. Good linear relationships were obtained in the range of 0.1–50 μg/L for chlorpyrifos, and 0.05–50 μg/L for both malathion and diazinon pesticides. Good repeatability and recoveries were obtained in the range of 78.54–86.73% for three pesticides under the optimized experimental conditions. The limit of detection ranged from 0.02 to 0.03 μg/L, and the limit of quantification ranged from 0.05 to 0.1 μg/L for all three pesticides. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied for the determination of three targeted pesticides in milk, apples, and drinking water samples each in triplicate. No pesticide was found in apple and milk samples, but chlorpyrifos was found in one drinking water sample below the quantification level.     

Determination of pesticides in river water using rotating disk sorptive extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The rotating disk sorptive extraction (RDSE) technique was applied to the determination of pesticides in aqueous samples. Pesticides of different polarities were considered in this study: chlorpyrifos, diazinon, fenvalarate, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, lindane and malathion. The sorptive/desorptive behavior of the pesticides was studied using a rotating disk containing a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) phase on one of its surfaces. The analyte polarity was a significant factor in the extraction time; shorter extraction times were required for the more apolar pesticides. The optimum variables for the extraction of all analytes were: extraction time of 3 h, sample volume of 25 mL, rotational velocity of the disk 1250 rpm, desorption time of 30 min using methanol. For pesticides with values of Log K_ow > 4, the extraction time can be reduced to 30 min for a quantitative extraction. Under these conditions, recoveries between 76% and 101% were obtained for the target pesticides, and the repeatability of the methodology, expressed as relative standard deviation, was determined to be between 10% and 20%. Additionally, the limits of detection of the analytes were lower than 3.1 μg L⁻¹. The extraction method developed using the RDSE was compared to a stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) under the same conditions. It can be observed that the extraction using the rotating disk offers higher recoveries because of its higher PDMS volume and its higher surface area to volume ratio that allows for improved mass transfer.     

Multiresidue determination of pesticides in juice by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A multiresidue method based on solid-phase extraction was developed for the simultaneous determination of 50 pesticides in commercial juices. The extraction procedure was carried out in C₁₈ columns preconditioned with acetonitrile and water. The subsequent elution of pesticides was performed with a mixture of hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) prior to the determination by gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometric detection in the selected ion monitoring mode (GC-MS-SIM), using one target and two qualifier ions. Standards were prepared spiking blank juice samples to counteract the observed matrix effect. Average recoveries for all the pesticides studied were higher than 91% with relative standard deviations lower than 9% in the concentration range of 0.02-0.1 μg/mL and the detection limits achieved ranged from 0.1 to 4.6 μg/L. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of these compounds in commercial juices and diazinon, ethion and procymidone were the pesticides encountered, although the levels found were very low.     

Multi-residue determination of pesticides in water using multi-walled carbon nanotubes solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A reliable multi-residue method which was based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbent was developed for determination and quantitation of 12 pesticides (carbofuran, iprobenfos, parathion-methyl, prometryn, fenitrothion, parathion-ethyl, isocarbofos, phenthoate, methidathion, endrin, ethion, methoxychlor) in surface water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Parameters that might influence the extraction efficiency such as the eluent volume, the sample flow rate and the sample loading volume were optimized. The experimental results showed the excellent linearity of 12 pesticides (R(2)>0.99) over the range of 0.04-4 microg L(-1), and the precisions (RSD) were 3.1-15.1% under the optimal conditions. The detection limits of proposed method could reach 0.01-0.03 microg L(-1) based on the ratio of chromatographic signal to base line noise (S/N=3). Good recoveries achieved with spiked water samples were in the range of 82.0-103.7%. The results indicated that MWCNTs have good adsorbability to the 12 pesticides tested in this study. With less cost, less analytical time and less solvent-consuming, the developed multi-residue method could be used to determine multi-class pesticides in water simultaneously.     

Determination of anatoxin-a in environmental water samples by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

In the present work, a method was developed and optimized aiming at the determination of anatoxin-a in environmental water samples. The method is based on the direct derivatization of the analyte by adding hexylchloroformate in the alkalinized sample (pH = 9.0). The derivatized anatoxin-a was extracted by a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) procedure, submersing a PDMS fiber in an amber vial for 20 min under magnetic stirring. GC-MS was used to identify and quantify the analyte in the SIM mode. Norcocaine was used as internal standard. The following ions were chosen for SIM analyses (quantification ions in italics): anatoxin-a: 191, 164, 293 and norcocaine: 195, 136, 168. The calibration curve showed linearity in the range of 2.5-200 ng/mL and the LOD was 2 ng/mL. This method of SPME and GC-MS analysis can be readily utilized to monitor anatoxin-a for water quality control.     

Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction for the selective determination of methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylenedioxyphenylalkylamine designer drugs in human whole blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A novel method is described for the extraction of methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylenedioxyphenylalkylamine designer drugs, such as 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine, and 3,4-(methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine, from human whole blood using molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction as highly selective sample clean-up technique. Whole blood samples were diluted with 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate (pH 8.6) and applied to a SupelMIP-Amphetamine molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction cartridge. The cartridge was then washed to eliminate interferences, and the amphetamines of interest were eluted with formic acid/methanol (1:100, v/v). After derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride, the analytes were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Recoveries of the seven amphetamines spiked into whole blood were 89.1-102%. The limits of quantification for each compound in 200 μL of whole blood were between 0.25 and 1.0 ng. The maximum intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation were 9.96 and 13.8%, respectively. The results show that methamphetamine, amphetamine, and methylenedioxyphenylalkyl-amine designer drugs can be efficiently extracted from crude biological samples such as whole blood by molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction with good reproducibility. This extraction method will be useful for the pretreatment of human samples before gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.     

Determination of tricyclic antidepressants in human plasma using pipette tip solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for the simultaneous extraction of four tricyclic antidepressants from human plasma samples using pipette tip SPE with MonoTip C(18) tips is presented. Human plasma (0.1 mL) containing four tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, amoxapine, imipramine, and trimipramine) and an internal standard (IS), protriptyline, was mixed with 0.4 mL of distilled water and 100 microL 1 M NaOH solution. After centrifugation of the mixture, the supernatant was extracted to the C(18) phase of the tip by 20 repeated aspirating/dispensing cycles using a manual micropipettor. The analytes retained in the tip were eluted with methanol by five repeated aspirating/dispensing cycles. Without evaporation and reconstitution, the eluate was directly injected into a gas chromatograph injector and detected by a mass spectrometer with SIM in the positive-ion electron impact mode. Recovery of the four antidepressants and IS spiked into human plasma was 80.2-92.1%. The regression equations for the four antidepressants showed excellent linearity in the range of 0.2-40 ng/0.1 mL. LODs and LOQs for the four drugs were 0.05-0.2 ng/0.1 mL and 0.2-0.5 ng/0.1 mL, respectively. Intra- and interday CVs for the four drugs in plasma were no greater than 9.5%.     

Determination of pesticides in water samples by solid phase extraction and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A multiresidue method for the determination of more than 80 pesticides in water has been developed and validated. The proposed method is based on SPE followed by GC coupled to MS/MS. Different variables affecting SPE procedure, such as cartridges, sample volume and solvents were studied, and mass spectrometric conditions were optimised in order to increase selectivity and sensitivity. Calibration curves were linear over the range of 0.03-0.5 microg/L. Recoveries were in the range of 70-110% and repeatability was below 20% for the lowest calibration point. LODs ranged from 0.001 to 0.025 microg/L and LOQs from 0.003 to 0.076 microg/L. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of water samples from southeast of Spain.     

Ultratraces analysis of organochlorine pesticides in drinking water by solid phase extraction coupled with large volume injection/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

This study describes an SPE coupled with large volume injection (LVI) analytical method for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides, BHC (alpha, beta, delta), aldrin, endosulfan (alpha, beta), endrin, dieldrin, and DDT, from aqueous samples. Determination was carried out by GC with MS. The LODs of organochlorine pesticides were determined at 10 ng/L concentration levels, and the results show that SPE-LVI-GC/MS has the potential to accurately determine organochlorine pesticides in water, as it avoids analyte classes in the various steps of a typical extraction procedure.     

Rapid determination of alkylphenols in aqueous samples by in situ acetylation and microwave-assisted headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A rapid and solvent‐free procedure for the determination of 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐nonylphenol isomers in aqueous samples is described. The method involves in‐situ acetylation and microwave‐assisted headspace solid‐phase microextraction prior to their determination using gas chromatography–ion trap mass spectrometry operated in the selected ion storage mode. The dual experimental protocols to evaluate the effects of various derivatization and extraction parameters were investigated and the conditions optimized. Under optimized conditions, 300 μL of acetic anhydride mixed with 1 g of potassium hydrogencarbonate and 2 g of sodium chloride in a 20 mL aqueous sample were efficiently extracted by a 65 μm polydimethylsiloxane‐divinylbenzene fiber that was located in the headspace when the system was microwave irradiated at 80 W for 5 min. The limits of quantitation were 5 and 50 ng/L for 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐nonylphenol isomers, respectively. The precision for these analytes, as indicated by relative standard deviations, were less than 8% for both intra‐ and inter‐day analysis. Accuracy, expressed as the mean extraction recovery, was between 74 to 88%. A standard addition method was used to quantitate 4‐tert‐octylphenol and 4‐nonylphenol isomers, and the concentrations ranged from 120 to 930 ng/L in various environmental water samples.     

Determination of organophosphorus pesticides and metabolites in crops by solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography/Diode array detection

Summary A multiresidue method for the analysis of 28 common organophosphorus pesticides and 3 of their main metabolites (paraoxon-ethyl, paraoxon-methyl and malaoxon) in a variety of crop samples has been developed. An aliquot of the chopped sample is homogenized with an organic solvent. The efficiency of extraction methods using methanol, acetone and acetonitrile was evaluated. The acetonitrile gives higher recoveries and minimizes co-extractives from the samples matrix. The resulting aqueous acetonitrile extract is filtered and cleaned by solid phase extraction (SPE). For SPE three different types of adsorption materials (Carbograph 1, LiChrobut-EN and Amberchrom CG-161m) were compared. The cleaned-up extract is injected into the LC system. Three different analytical columns were tested in conjunction with two mobile phase compositions of different polarity. The use of LC-DAD techniques allowed the identification of both organophosphorus pesticides and metabolites by means of standard and spectral comparison, respectively. The accuracy of the quantitative determination measured in terms of average percentage recovery of 31 compounds in crop samples was 61–96% with a relative standard deviation of 5–10%.     

气相色谱-质谱法分析蜂蜜中多种有机氯农药残留

建立了气相色谱-电子轰击离子化-质谱法（GC-EI-MS）同时分析蜂蜜试样中12种有机氯农药残留的分析方法.蜂蜜试样用V（正己烷）：V（乙酸乙酯）=5：1混合提取剂超声提取和Florisil硅藻土层析柱净化后,以PCB 103为内标物,采用GC-EI-MS的选择离子监测方式（SIM）分析,同时探讨了一些有机氯农药EI-MS特征离子的结构与断裂机理.当空白试样的加标浓度为10、50、200μg/kg时,加标回收率为80%～112%,相对标准偏差为0.4%～9.8%,方法检出限为0.2～4.0μg/kg,其中8种农药的MDL＜1.0μg/kg,线性范围为10～500μg/kg,相关系数皆大于0.996,此方法已用于蜂蜜试样中多种痕量有机氯农药残留的分析.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction materials for the gas chromatographic determination of organophosphorus pesticides in waters

In the present work, a GC method with nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight organophosphorus pesticide (OPP) residues (i.e., ethoprofos, diazinon, chlorpyrifos-methyl, fenitrothion, malathion, chlorpyrifos, fenamiphos, and buprofezin) in water samples. Preconcentration of the water samples was carried out using an SPE procedure with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of 10-15 nm od, 2-6 nm id, and 0.1-10 microm length as stationary phase. Extraction parameters, such as the amount of MWCNTs, sample volume, pH, and type and amount of the eluent were optimized. The most favorable conditions were as follows: 40 mg MWCNTs, 800 mL water, pH 6.0, and 20 mL dichloromethane, respectively. The MWCNTs-SPE-GC-NPD method was applied to the determination of these pesticides in real water samples: mineral and ground water as well as run-off water from an agricultural area collected shortly before opening out onto the sea. A recovery study was developed with five consecutive extractions of the three types of water spiked at three concentration levels (n = 15). Mean recovery values were in the range of 75-116% for mineral water (RSD < 6.3%), 67-119% for ground water (RSD < 5.8%), and 57-81% for run-off waters (RSDs < 6.9%), except for fenamiphos (mean recovery values between 40 and 84% for the three types of waters, RSDs < 8.9%). LODs were in the low ng/L level (i.e., levels below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) established by the European Union (EU) legislation for these compounds in waters). The proposed method was also applied to the analysis of six water samples (two of each type: mineral, ground, and run-off waters) in which no residues of the selected pesticides were found. Results show that the MWCNTs used in this work have a high adsorbability of the pesticides under study. The main advantage of the use of these MWCNTs is their low cost when compared with those MWCNTs previously used in the literature and with conventional SPE cartridges.     

Multi-residue analysis of pesticides in tea by online SEC-GC/MS

A multi-residue method for the analysis of pesticides in tea was developed by online size exclusion chromatography (SEC)-GC/MS with full scan mode. The sample was fortified with chlorpyrifos-d(10) isotope internal standard and extracted by acetonitrile. After purification by primary secondary amine sorbent and solvent exchange by SEC mobile phase, the sample was detected by online SEC-GC/MS. The purification result of the online system was evaluated by comparing the correlation between Chinese cabbage and tea matrix. The factors for method optimization included sample preparation, matrix effects and the instrument parameters of each online component. Scatter plot was introduced in this study to directly illustrate the results of the condition optimization and matrix effects in the online system. For most of the pesticides, the average recoveries ranged from 70 to 130% and the RSD were below 15%. The feasibility of the application of full scan mode in multi-residue determination of trace amounts of pesticides (LODs below 0.01 mg/kg) in a complex matrix was discussed.     

Rapid determination of pesticide residues in herbs using selective pressurized liquid extraction and fast gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

A selective pressurized liquid extraction and gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometer method was developed for simultaneous determination of 52 pesticide residues in medicine and food dual-purpose herbs. The developed extraction method integrated extraction and cleanup processes for sample preparation. The sorbents, 5 g Florisil and 100 mg graphitized carbon black, were placed inside the extraction cell to remove matrix interferences. Optimized conditions of selective pressurized liquid extraction were ethyl acetate as extraction solvent, 120°C of extraction temperature, 6 min of static extraction time, 50% of flush volume extracted for two cycles. An ultra inert capillary GC-MS HP-5 UI column (20 m × 0.18 mm id, 0.18 μm) and column backflush system were used for the analysis. Multiple-reaction monitoring was employed for the quantitative analysis with electron ionization mode. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r(2) > 0.995) within the test ranges. The average recoveries of most pesticides were from 81 to 118%. The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of pesticide residues in four herbs. The results indicate that selective pressurized liquid extraction and GC-MS/MS is a sensitive and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of multiple pesticide residues in herbs.     

Determination of pesticide residues in complex matrices using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as reversed-dispersive solid-phase extraction sorbent

A modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) method with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a reversed-dispersive solid-phase extraction (r-DSPE) material combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of 14 pesticides in complex matrices. Four vegetables (leek, onion, ginger and garlic) were selected as the complex matrices for validating this new method. This technique involved the acetonitrile-based sample preparation and MWCNTs were used as the r-DSPE material in the cleanup step. Two important parameters influencing the MWCNTs efficiency, the external diameters and the amount of MWCNTs used, were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, recoveries of 78-110% were obtained for the target analytes in the complex matrices at two concentration levels of 0.02 and 0.2 mg/kg. In addition, the RSD values ranged from 1 to 13%. LOQs and LODs for 14 pesticides ranged from 2 to 20 μg/kg and from 1 to 6 μg/kg, respectively.     

Behaviour of carbamate pesticides in gas chromatography and their determination with solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction as preconcentration steps

This work reports a study of the chromatographic behaviour of seven carbamate pesticides (aldicarb, carbetamide, propoxur, carbofuran, carbaryl, methiocarb, and pirimicarb) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Variables such as injector temperature, solvent, injection mode, and the degree of ageing of the chromatographic column were studied. One of the aims of this work was to achieve a controlled decomposition of carbamates by a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) preconcentration step with a polyacrylate fibre in order to obtain reproducible chromatographic signals of the degradation products. Optimisation of the SPME process was accomplished by means of experimental design. Several methods using ultrapure water were developed with different preconcentration configurations: SPME-GC-MS, SPE followed by SPME-GC-MS, and SPE plus GC-MS. For all the pesticides studied, method detection limit (MDL) values below 0.1 microg L-1 were reached in at least one of the proposed configurations.     

快速溶剂萃取-气相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定土壤中有机氯及有机磷农药

建立了快速溶剂萃取（ASE）-气相色谱-串联质谱（GC-MS/MS）同时分析土壤中8种有机氯农药（OCPs）和5种有机磷农药（OPPs）的方法。样品由正己烷-丙酮（1：1,v/v）溶液萃取,经无水硫酸钠脱水、氮吹仪浓缩后,采用硅胶（Si）固相萃取小柱进行净化,正己烷-丙酮（1：1,v/v）溶液进行洗脱,然后经HP-5MS色谱柱（30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 μm）分离,在电子轰击电离源下以多反应监测（MRM）模式进行检测,内标法定量。分析结果表明,13种目标物在1.00~100 μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数（R）大于0.995;加标回收率为66.8%~88.4%,能够实现准确定量;日内精密度与日间精密度均小于10%。当取样量为10.0 g时,8种OCPs的方法检出限为0.02~0.04 μg/kg,5种OPPs的方法检出限为0.06~0.12 μg/kg,能够满足土壤农药残留的检测要求。