Independent evaluation of a commercial deconvolution reporting software for gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables

The gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) deconvolution reporting software (DRS) from Agilent Technologies has been evaluated for its ability as a screening tool to detect a large number of pesticides in incurred and fortified samples extracted with acetone/dichloromethane/light petroleum (Mini-Luke method). The detection of pesticides is based on fixed retention times using retention time locking (RTL) and full scan mass spectral comparison with a partly customer built automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system (AMDIS) database. The GC–MS was equipped with a programmable temperature vaporising (PTV) injector system which enables more sample to be injected. In a blind study of 52 real samples a total number of 158 incurred pesticides were found. In addition to the 85 pesticides found by manual interpretation of GC–NPD/ECD chromatograms, the DRS revealed 73 more pesticides (+46%). The DRS system also shows its potential to discover pesticides which are normally not searched for (EPN in long beans from Thailand). A spiking experiment was performed to blank matrices of apple, orange and lettuce with 177 different pesticides at concentration levels 0.02 and 0.1 mg/kg. The samples were analysed on GC–MS full scan and the AMDIS match factor was used as a mass spectral quality criterion. The threshold level of the AMDIS match factor was set at 20 to eliminate most of the false positives. AMDIS match factors from 20 up to 69 are regarded only as indication of a positive hit and must be followed by manual interpretation. Pesticides giving AMDIS match factors at ≥70 are regarded as identified. To simplify and decrease the large amount of data generated at each concentration level, the AMDIS match factors ≥20 was averaged (mean AMF) for each pesticide including the commodities and their replicates. Among 177 different pesticides spiked at 0.02 and 0.1 mg/kg level, the percentage of mean AMF values ≥70 were 23% and 80%, respectively. For 531 individual detections of pesticides (177 pesticides × 3 replicates) giving AMDIS match factor 20 in apple, orange and lettuce, the detection rates at 0.02 mg/kg were 71%, 63% and 72%, respectively. For the 0.1 mg/kg level the detection rates were 89%, 85% and 89%, respectively. In real samples some manual interpretation must be performed in addition. However, screening by GC–MS/DRS is about 5–10 times faster compared to screening with GC–NPD/ECD because the time used for manual interpretation is much shorter and there is no need for re-injection on GC–MS for the identification of suspect peaks found on GC–NPD/ECD.     

程序升温大体积进样和解卷积气相色谱-质谱法测定蔬菜水果中32种农药残留量

建立了蔬菜、水果中有机磷、有机氯、拟除虫菊酯和氨基甲酸酯等32种农药的气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)检测方法。样品经乙腈提取,石墨碳黑串联丙氨基固相萃取柱净化,采用程序升温大体积进样,GC-MS全扫描模式采集,结合解卷积技术定性分析,内标法定量。分别对程序升温和大体积进样等条件进行了研究,并考察了方法选择性和耐用性。在最优条件下,32种农药的响应值与浓度呈良好的线性关系(r>0.995),各农药的方法检出限为2.0~5.0 μg/kg,以菠菜、四季豆和黄瓜为代表基质,进行3个水平(0.010~0.50 mg/kg)的加标回收试验(n=6),回收率为65.2%~120.3%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为4.1%~22.3%。该方法快速、灵敏、可靠、耐用,能满足蔬菜、水果中多类多残留痕量分析的要求。     

Combination of stir bar sorptive extraction–retention time locked gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and automated mass spectral deconvolution for pesticide identification in fruits and vegetables

Fruit and vegetable samples collected at a local market were analyzed using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) followed by thermal desorption, retention time locked (RTL) gas chromatographic separation and full scan mass spectrometric determination. Although the technique is proven to have sufficient extraction efficiency and productivity in pesticide analysis, the full scan chromatograms are loaded with matrix components making qualitative evaluation time consuming and too difficult to be adequate for routine laboratory screening. Identification can be facilitated to a great extent with evaluation methods provided by data evaluation software. Through the comparison of three evaluation methods we found that the mass spectral deconvolution software AMDIS supports most the decision making process, performing best in discovering positive hits and reducing data for supervision, making SBSE suitable for routine applications.     

Combination of stir bar sorptive extraction–retention time locked gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and automated mass spectral deconvolution for pesticide identification in fruits and vegetables

Fruit and vegetable samples collected at a local market were analyzed using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) followed by thermal desorption, retention time locked (RTL) gas chromatographic separation and full scan mass spectrometric determination. Although the technique is proven to have sufficient extraction efficiency and productivity in pesticide analysis, the full scan chromatograms are loaded with matrix components making qualitative evaluation time consuming and too difficult to be adequate for routine laboratory screening. Identification can be facilitated to a great extent with evaluation methods provided by data evaluation software. Through the comparison of three evaluation methods we found that the mass spectral deconvolution software AMDIS supports most the decision making process, performing best in discovering positive hits and reducing data for supervision, making SBSE suitable for routine applications.     

Spectral deconvolution for overlapping GC/MS components

The use of mass chromatogram peak centroids has been investigated as a means of deconvoluting the spectra of overlapping gas chromatography/mass spectrometry components. The peak centroids have been calculated with a precision of 0.04 scans (sd). This proved sufficient to allow deconvolution of the mass spectra belonging to two chemical components which were eluted 0.48 scans apart. For a more complex chromatography peak, it was possible to deconvolute the spectra of six components which were eluted within a 9 scan window. All the spectra produced by using this deconvolution mechanism agreed well with National Institute of Standards and Technology database spectra.     

Comparative qualitative analysis of nonylphenol isomers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with chemometric resolution

The relationship between nonylphenol (NP) isomers' structures and their estrogenic potencies has been evaluated previously. However, due to their similarities in both chemical and physical properties, complete separation and identification remain strikingly difficult. In the present study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is employed to separate commercial NP isomers. Both extracted ion chromatograms (EIC) based on selected ions known to be definitive for the suite of isomers, and the heuristic evolving latent projection (HELP) chemometric resolution method have been applied for the analysis and identification of the NP isomers. This method corrected the wrong identification of one isomer which was suspected based on the EIC data, and also was able to be applied for the determination of an additional isomer with low abundance. Overall, 15 NP isomers have been proposed by the HELP interpretation method. Pure component chromatograms and mass spectra have been extracted with the aid of chemometric resolution. The applicability of the commercial deconvolution software package automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system (AMDIS) has also been tested against the HELP method for comparative presentation of pure component mass spectra.     

Benefits and pitfalls of the application of screening methods for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables

The goal of this study was to expand knowledge on the performance of screening methods based on accurate mass measurements using a liquid chromatography electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS) system operating in full scan mode and with automatic identification based on the use accurate-mass databases. The study involved the analysis of 97 pesticides, in five matrices (tomato, pepper, zucchini, orange and leek) and at three concentration levels (20, 50 and 100 μg kg(-1)). Aspects concerning optimization of the search parameters, sensitivity, matrix effects, efficiency of the algorithm search, usefulness of fragment ions, etc., are evaluated in deep. Sensitivity requirements have been identified as the main obstacle affecting the automatic identification of pesticides, especially in complex matrices, where the ionization suppression reduces the detectability of analytes. In addition, we have detected some failures in the software used for automatic data processing in terms of analysis of isobaric compounds, use of isotopic clusters, spectral deconvolution and data processing speed that hamper the correct identification in some pesticide/matrix combinations. These drawbacks should be improved in the future for its effective implementation in routine residue analysis.     

Rapid analysis of multicomponent pesticide mixture by GC-MS with the aid of chemometric resolution

Applications of hyphenated chromatographic techniques, especially GC-MS technique, have been reported in chemical, biological, environmental, agricultural and medical analysis. The complexity of the samples in these fields is still an obstacle for the technique to be practical and the overlapping of the multicomponent signals induces chemometric methods widely employed. In this work, taking the rapid analysis of pesticide mixture as an example, a chemometric approach was proposed for resolution of multicomponent overlapping GC-MS signal. In the method, a mass spectral library of pesticides was organized at first, then target factor analysis (TFA) was employed for testing the existence of a specific pesticide in the multicomponent overlapping GC-MS signal, and finally the chromatographic information of the pesticide was extracted by a non-negative immune algorithm (IA). A GC-MS signal of a 40-component pesticide mixture eluted within 9 min was analyzed by the method. It was found that the mass spectra and chromatographic profiles of almost all the pesticides can be obtained.     

Deconvolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of urinary organic acids--potential for pattern recognition and automated identification of metabolic disorders

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System (AMDIS) is applied to a selection of data files obtained from the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of urinary organic acids. Mass spectra obtained after deconvolution are compared with a special user library containing both the mass spectra and retention indices of ethoxime-trimethylsilyl (EO-TMS) derivatives of a set of organic acids. Efficient identification of components is achieved and the potential of the procedure for automated diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism and for related research is demonstrated.     

Pesticide residue analysis in foodstuffs applying capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. State-of-the-art use of modified DFG-multimethod S19 and automated data evaluation

This paper focuses on recent developments in the author's laboratory and reports on the "ultimate" analysis scheme which has evolved over the last 20 years in our laboratory. This demonstrates the feasibility of screening analyses for pesticide residue identification, mainly by full scan GC-MS, down to the 0.01 ppm concentration level in plant foodstuffs. It is based on a miniaturized DFG S19 extraction applying acetone for extraction followed by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate-cyclohexane followed by gel permeation chromatography. The final chromatographic determination is carried out with a battery of three parallel operating gas chromatographic systems using effluent splitting to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection, one with a SE-54 the other with a OV-17 capillary column and the third one with a SE-54 capillary column and mass selective detection for identification and quantitation. The method is established for monitoring more than 400 pesticides amenable to gas chromatography. These pesticide residues are identified in screening analyses by means of the dedicated mass spectral library PEST.L containing reference mass spectra and retention times of more than 400 active ingredients and also metabolites applying the macro program AuPest (Automated residue analysis on Pesticides) for automated evaluation which runs with Windows based HP ChemStation software. The two gas chromatographic systems with effluent splitting to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection are used to check the results obtained with the automated GC-MS screening and also to detect those few pesticides which exhibit better response to electron-capture and nitrogen-phosphorus detection than to mass spectrometry in full scan.     

Comprehensive chemical profiling of Guizhi Fuling capsule by the combined use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with a deconvolution software and rapid-resolution liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry

Herbal formulations are complex natural mixtures. Researchers usually tend to focus more on analysis of nonvolatile components but pay less attention to volatile compounds. In this study, an analytical strategy combining two approaches was established for comprehensive analysis of herbal formulations. Guizhi Fuling capsule (GFC), a drug approved by the FDA to enter phase II clinical trial for treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, was taken as a case for analysis. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) with automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system (AMDIS) led to rapid identification of 48 volatile components including four acetophenones, three fatty acid esters, 13 phenylpropanoids and 19 sesquiterpenes. Most of them were found from Guizhi. The volatile oils of Guizhi have been proved to exhibit many pharmacological activities. This is helpful in understanding the pharmacological mechanism of GFC. Furthermore, AMDIS turned out to be efficient and reliable for analysis of complex herbal formulations. Rapid‐resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐Q‐TOF MS/MS) allowed the identification of 70 nonvolatile components including six acetophenones, 12 galloyl glucoses, 31 monoterpene glycosides, three phenols and 12 triterpene acids. Fragmentation behaviors of assigned components, especially triterpene acids, which are hard to identify by low‐resolution MS, were first investigated by TOF MS/MS. Characteristic ions and typical loss of assigned triterpene acids were summarized. Combinatorial use of GC‐MS‐AMDIS and RRLC‐ESI‐Q‐TOF MS/MS could be of great help in global qualitative analysis of GFC, as well as other herbal products. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sequential stir bar extraction,thermal desorption and retention time locked GC–MS for determination of pesticides in water

A method based on sequential stir bar sorptive extraction followed by automated thermal desorption–GC–MS for the determination of pesticides in underground and superficial water samples has been developed. Retention time locked GC–MS and deconvolution Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System software allows the use of pesticide databases for identification and quantification in routine applications. Quantitation limits and repetitivity using full scan mass spectrometric determination guarantee the applicability of the method, which enables considerable savings to be made in total analysis time, with data processing times of around 2 min/sample.     

Resolving overlapping GC–MS signals with a multistep screening chemometric approach for the fast determination of pesticides

For the rapid analysis of multicomponent mixtures using GC–MS, a chemometric multistep screening approach was proposed to extract the signals of the components from the overlapping signals measured with a very fast temperature program. At first, independent component analysis was used to find all the possible mass spectra from the overlapping signal in the moving windows along the retention time, and iterative target transformation factor analysis was employed to validate the existence of the extracted spectra from each window. Then, identical signals in the validated spectra were excluded using match ratio as a criterion. Finally, the chromatographic profiles for each spectrum were calculated using non‐negative immune algorithm, and the spectra with a reasonable profile were taken as the identified components. A mixture of 53 pesticides was analyzed with a very fast temperature program of 7 min. A total of 48 pesticides and 16 interferences were identified from the overlapping GC–MS signal.     

Reliable screening of pesticide residues in maternal and umbilical cord sera by gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry

The widespread use of pesticides induces heavy adverse effects on human health,especially for the pregnant women and the newborns.In this study,a screening method has been developed for the determination of multi-pesticides in maternal and umbilical cord sera.All pesticides in sera were collected using solid phase extraction(SPE),and analyzed by gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry(GC-QTOF MS).To set up the quality criteria,a database of 50 pesticides was created and the accurate masses of 3 up to 5 representative ions with their intensity ratios were included for each pesticide.In addition,a novel"identification points"(IPs)system relying on the accurate MS1 and MS2 spectra was used to interpret the data for each suspected pesticide.The methodology was then applied to a pair of maternal and umbilical cord sera.A total of six pesticide residues were screened out successfully.In conclusion,GC-QTOF MS combined with an accurate mass database seemed to be one of the most efficient tools for systematic pesticide analysis.     

A new approach to qualitative analysis of organophosphorus pesticide residues in cucumber using a double gas chromatographic system: GC-pulsed-flame photometry and retention time locking GC-mass spectrometry

A qualitative method for the screening of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) that could present in different types of vegetables has been established and validated. A typical multi-residue extraction procedure of OPs using ethyl acetate and sodium sulphate has been applied. No clean-up was required after extraction, and concentrated extracts were analysed by gas chromatography with pulsed-flame photometric detection (GC-PFPD). Confirmation of compound identities was performed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MSD) in the electron impact (EI) mode with full scan acquisition. Retention time locking (RTL) software was used in order to improve the method capability of identification and confirmation. Spiked samples at pesticide concentrations equal to the maximum residue level (MRL) were used to check chromatographic performance and for validation studies. The proposed method allows a rapid and accurate identification of the studied OPs until the ng ml(-1) range for those whose use is forbidden, and above their MRL concentration for the rest.     

Comparison of gas chromatography-pulsed flame photometric detection-mass spectrometry, automated mass spectral deconvolution and identification system and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry as tools for trace level detection and identification

The complexity of a matrix is in many cases the major limiting factor in the detection and identification of trace level analytes. In this work, the ability to detect and identify trace level of pesticides in complex matrices was studied and compared in three, relatively new methods: (a) GC-PFPD-MS where simultaneous PFPD (pulsed flame photometric detection) and MS analysis is performed. The PFPD indicates the exact chromatographic time of suspected peaks for their MS identification and provides elemental information; (b) automatic GC-MS data analysis using the AMDIS ("Automated Mass Spectral Deconvolution and Identification System") software by the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (c) GC-MS-MS analysis. A pesticide mixture (MX-5), containing diazinon, methyl parathion, ethyl parathion, methyl trithion and ethion was spiked, in descending levels from 1 ppm to 10 ppb, into soil and sage (spice) extracts and the detection level and identification quality were evaluated in each experiment. PFPD-MS and AMDIS exhibited similar performance, both superior to standard GC-MS, revealing and identifying compounds that did not exhibit an observable GC peak (either buried under the chromatographic background baseline or co-eluting with other interfering GC peaks). GC-MS-MS featured improved detection limits (lower by a factor of 6-8) compared to AMDIS and PFPD-MS. The GC-PFPD-MS-MS combination was found useful in several cases, where no reconstructed ion chromatogram MS-MS peaks existed, but an MS-MS spectrum could still be extracted at the elution time indicated by PFPD. The level of identification and confirmation with MS-MS was inferior to that of the other two techniques. In comparison with the soil matrix, detection limits obtained with the loaded sage matrix were poorer by similar factors for all the techniques studied (factors of 5.8, >6.5 and 4.0 for AMDIS, PFPD-MS and MS-MS, respectively). Based on the above results, the paper discusses the trade-offs between detectivity and identification level with the compared three techniques as well as other more traditional techniques and approaches.     

基于高通量解析算法的复杂样品重叠气相色谱-质谱信号的快速分析

化学计量学算法为重叠气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)信号的解析提供了有效手段,但其在计算过程中一般需要将数据进行分段处理,然后只对信号的某些区间进行解析,难以实现真正意义上的高通量分析。该文结合移动窗口目标转换因子分析(MWTTFA)和非负免疫算法(NNIA),建立了一种高通量解析方法。首先,根据所有可能存在的目标组分的标准质谱信息,利用MWTTFA检验复杂信号中存在的组分,并确定目标组分的质谱信息和洗脱时间区域。以得到的质谱信息作为后续计算的输入值,利用NNIA解析得到相应的色谱信息。采用快速升温程序对17种和42种农药混合标准样品的GC-MS信号进行分析,利用所建立的方法可在10 min内得到全部组分的色谱和质谱信息。     

Evaluation of two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the determination of multiple pesticide residues in fruit

In recent years, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) has attained increasing attention for its outstanding separation potential and capability to solve demanding analytical tasks. Trace level analysis of pesticides residues in complex food matrices represents such a demanding task. For some commodities, such as baby food, the requirements on method detection limits are very strict and the unambiguous confirmation of the pesticide presence based on mass spectrometric detection is required. In this work, GC x GC coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS) has been evaluated for the determination of pesticides residues in fruit samples. Twenty modern pesticides with a broad range of physico-chemical properties were analysed in apple and peach samples. It has been demonstrated that the application of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography brings distinct advantages such as enhanced separation of target pesticides from matrix co-extracts as well as their improved detectability. The limits of detection of the pesticides comprised in the study (determined at S/N = 5) ranged from 0.2 to 30 pg, injected with the exception of the last eluted deltamethrin, for which 100 pg could be detected. When compared to one-dimentional GC-TOF MS analysis under essentially the same conditions the detectability enhancement was 1.5-50-fold. Full mass spectral information by time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the deconvolution capability of the dedicated software allowed for reliable identification of most pesticides at levels below 0.01 mg/kg (< 10 pg injected) in fruit. Performance characteristics of the GC x GC-TOF MS method, such as linearity of calibration curves, repeatability of (summed) peak areas, as well as repeatability of first and second dimension retention times, were shown to fully satisfy the requirements for trace level analysis of the pesticide residues in food.     

Validation of a gas chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry based method for the quantification of pesticides in food commodities

A new multiresidue method has been validated in cucumber matrix for the routine analysis of 130 multiclass pesticide residues by gas chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The pesticides were extracted with ethyl acetate. A first identification of the pesticides was based on a tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) screening method, which monitors a single transition for each target compound, in less than 12 min. After that, potentially non-negative samples were analyzed again by the MS/MS confirmation/quantification method, which monitors two or three MS/MS transitions for each compound, also in less than 12 min. Performance characteristics, such as trueness, precision, linear range, detection limit (LOD) and quantification limit (LOQ), for each pesticide were calculated. The average recoveries obtained ranged between 70 and 120% at three different fortification levels (25, 200 and 500 microg/kg) with precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), values lower than 15%. The calculated LOD and LOQ were typically <3.2 and 9.6 microg/kg, respectively. Such limits were much lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) established by European legislation. The proposed methodology was applied to the determination of pesticides in real vegetable samples from Almería (Spain).     

Fast and sensitive determination of pesticide residues in vegetables using low-pressure gas chromatography with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer

In this study, the feasibility of low-pressure gas chromatography (LP-GC) in conjunction with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, as a route towards fast pesticide residue analysis, was investigated. A Varian GC-MS system equipped with a mass spectrometer model 1200 was used. LP-GC-MS experiments were performed on a HP-5 10 m x 0.32 mm x 0.25 microm analytical column connected to a 2.5 m x 0.15 mm non-coated restriction precolumn at the inlet end. For comparison purposes conventional GC-MS analysis was performed on a RTX-5 30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.5 microm column. Under the optimized conditions the analysis time was reduced to 13.3 min with the LP-GC approach which corresponds to an almost threefold gain in speed versus the conventional GC (37 min). Despite the poorer separation power of the LP-GC column, the experiments conducted with tomato and onion extracts spiked with 78 pesticides proved that LP-GC-MS is of practical value to perform full scan screening analysis. Moreover, the rate of false negative results was higher in the case of conventional GC-MS while the LP-GC-MS enabled correct identification of pesticides at lower levels since the peaks were improved in both size and shape. Validation experiments were performed on a sample of 12 representative pesticides for comparison of performance characteristics of the LP-GC and GC approaches with mass spectrometer operated in scan, SIM and MS/MS mode. The LP-GC column set-up interfaced to the MS detector was found to be superior to the conventional GC with respect to obtained linearity, accuracy and precision parameters. Also, lower limits of detection in real extracts were achieved using the LP-GC approach. Finally, the LP-GC-MS/MS analysis of tomato samples with incurred pesticide residues demonstrated the applicability of the developed method for analysis of real samples.