Multiresidue determination of chlorophenoxy acid herbicides in human urine samples by use of solid-phase extraction and capillary LC–UV detection

Chlorophenoxy acid herbicides are intensively applied to get rid of unwanted plants because of their low cost and selectivity. Due to their toxicity, which depends on their chemical form, the European Community has established legal directives to restrict their use and to control their maximum residue levels in several matrices. Determination of chlorophenoxy acids—2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA), 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propanoic acid (2,4-DP), 2-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)propanoic acid (MCPP), 4-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)butanoic acid (MCPB) and 2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)propanoic acid (2,4,5-TP) in spiked human urine samples has been carried out by capillary LC, after solid-phase extraction on a column packed with silica C₁₈ restricted-access material. Chromatographic analysis was performed in gradient-elution mode at 25 °C, with injection of 20 μL low-organic-solvent composition herbicide solutions for focusing purposes on the head of the capillary column, and diode array detection at 232 nm. Urine samples collected during 24 h from healthy and unexposed volunteers were spiked in the concentration range 25–150 μg L⁻¹; recoveries obtained were between 66 and 100% (n = 6 for each spiked level) and RSDs (relative standard deviations) were between 1 and 5%. Detection limits in the urine samples from volunteers were between 3.5 and 6.0 μg L⁻¹. The developed methodology has allowed the clean-up and preconcentration of low volumes of untreated human urine without previous treatment, showing the effectiveness of the employed SPE sorbent for extracting the target analytes and ultimately resulting in the reduction of the sample-preparation time.     

Separation and analysis of triazine herbcide residues by capillary electrophoresis

Triazines are widely used in agriculture around the world as selective pre‐ and post‐emergence herbicides for the control of broad leaf and grassy weeds. With high toxicity and persistence, triazines can contaminate the environment and crops, so the development of rapid and sensitive methods for the determination of different triazines is necessary. Capillary electrophoresis comprises a group of techniques used to separate chemical mixtures. Analytical separation is based on different electrophoretic mobilities. This review focuses on the analysis of triazine herbicides with different modes of capillary electrophoresis, including capillary zone electrophoresis, micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography and nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis. Determinations of triazines in various matrices such as surface water, groundwater, vegetables, soil and grains are emphasized. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an Ion-Pairing Liquid Chromatography Method for the Determination of Phenoxyacetic Herbicides and Their Main Metabolites: Application to the Analysis of Soil Samples

A modified ion-pairing liquid chromatography method is developed for the analysis of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) and their phenolic metabolites in water and soil samples. The separation and determination of all compounds of interest can be performed with a mobile phase containing 30% acetonitrile and 10 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as the ion-pairing reagent. Separation of the two phenoxyacids is strongly affected by the pH of the mobile phase, which has to be buffered to pH 7.2 with phosphoric acid. The increase in the hydrophobicity of the sample solvent results in wider peaks for the two phenoxyacids, which reduces the resolution in their separation. The evaluation of different methanol:water solvent mixtures shows that no baseline separation for the two phenoxyacids is obtained when the methanol content in the mixture is higher than 60%.     

Rapid method for determination of phenylurea herbicides in milk

Summary A method has been developed for the determination of thirteen phenylurea herbicide residues in milk. It involves one-step solvent extraction of the milk with methanol by ultrasonication. The extract is cleaned up on an Amberchrom resin cartridge. Reversed-phase, gradient elution, high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection at 242 nm is used to analyse the residues. The recovery of thirteen phenylurea pesticides is quantitative, ranging from 71.4% to 97.9% for the individual herbicides investigated at concentrations around 0.05 mg kg^–1 and from 65.1% to 95.6% around 0.005 mg kg^–1. The method is not associated with any of the emulsion problems common to conventional solvent extraction, which considerably reduce the sample clean-up process compared with existing methods.     

Determination of phenylureas herbicides in food stuffs based on matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction and capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

A new method based on matrix solid phase dispersion-capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection (MSPD-CE-ECL) has been developed for the simultaneous determination of three kinds of phenylurea herbicides (PHUs). Poly-β-cyclodextrin (poly-β-CD) was used as an additive in the running buffer to improve the separation of three analytes. The conditions for CE separation, ECL detection and effect of poly-β-CD were investigated in detail. Under the optimal conditions, three kinds of herbicides (isoproturon, linuron and diuron) were well separated and detected within 8 min. The linear ranges of the standard solution for isoproturon and linuron were 1-300 μg L(-1) with a detection limit (S/N=3) of 0.1 μg L(-1), and for diuron was 2-500 μg L(-1) with a detection limit of 0.2 μg L(-1). The average recoveries were in the range of 86.9-102.8%, and all relative standard deviation of the migration time and the ECL intensity in intraday and interday were less than 9.0%. The proposed method was also applied to the determination of three kinds of herbicides in green vegetable and rice samples with recoveries in the range from 78.1 to 93.8%.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定人参中磺酰脲类除草剂残留量

建立了人参中15种磺酰脲类除草剂残留量的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱(UPLC-MS/MS)检测方法。样品中残留的农药经乙腈提取、石墨化炭黑(ENVI-Carbon)固相萃取柱净化后,使用含1%(v/v)甲酸的甲醇-二氯甲烷(20:80, v/v)洗脱,UPLC分离,最后采用电喷雾串联质谱在正离子多反应监测(MRM)扫描模式下进行测定。15种农药在2～100 μg/L的质量浓度范围内线性关系良好,相关系数在0.996和0.999之间。对人参中15种农药在5、25和50 μg/kg 3个添加水平下的回收率进行了测定,其平均回收率在84.9%和104.3%之间,相对标准偏差在2.4%和11.9%之间。各种农药的定量限均为5 μg/kg。该方法操作简便,净化效果好,灵敏度、准确度和精密度均符合多残留检测技术的要求,可为中药材中磺酰脲类除草剂污染状况调查提供检测方法支持。     

Low‐dimensional coordination polymeric structures in alkali metal complex salts of the herbicide (2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4‐D)

The Li, Rb and Cs complexes with the herbicide (2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4‐D), namely poly[[aqua[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ³O¹:O¹:O^1′]lithium(I)] dihydrate], {[Li(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)(H₂O)]·2H₂O}_n, (I), poly[μ‐aqua‐bis[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ⁴O¹:O^1′:O^1′,Cl²]dirubidium(I)], [Rb₂(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)₂(H₂O)]_n, (II), and poly[μ‐aqua‐bis[μ₃‐(2,4‐dichlorophenoxy)acetato‐κ⁵O¹:O^1′:O^1′,O²,Cl²]dicaesium(I)], [Cs₂(C₈H₅Cl₂O₃)₂(H₂O)]_n, (III), respectively, have been determined and their two‐dimensional polymeric structures are described. In (I), the slightly distorted tetrahedral LiO₄ coordination involves three carboxylate O‐atom donors, of which two are bridging, and a monodentate aqua ligand, together with two water molecules of solvation. Conjoined six‐membered ring systems generate a one‐dimensional coordination polymeric chain which extends along b and interspecies water O—H...O hydrogen‐bonding interactions give the overall two‐dimensional layers which lie parallel to (001). In hemihydrate complex (II), the irregular octahedral RbO₅Cl coordination about Rb⁺ comprises a single bridging water molecule which lies on a twofold rotation axis, a bidentate O_carboxy,Cl‐chelate interaction and three bridging carboxylate O‐atom bonding interactions from the 2,4‐D ligand. A two‐dimensional coordination polymeric layer structure lying parallel to (100) is formed through a number of conjoined cyclic bridges, including a centrosymmetric four‐membered Rb₂O₂ ring system with an Rb...Rb separation of 4.3312 (5) Å. The coordinated water molecule forms intralayer aqua–carboxylate O—H...O hydrogen bonds. Complex (III) comprises two crystallographically independent (Z′ = 2) irregular CsO₆Cl coordination centres, each comprising two O‐atom donors (carboxylate and phenoxy) and a ring‐substituted Cl‐atom donor from the 2,4‐D ligand species in a tridentate chelate mode, two O‐atom donors from bridging carboxylate groups and one from a bridging water molecule. However, the two 2,4‐D ligands are conformationally very dissimilar, with one phenoxyacetate side chain being synclinal and the other being antiperiplanar. The minimum Cs...Cs separation is 4.4463 (5) Å. Structure extension gives coordination polymeric layers which lie parallel to (001) and are stabilized by intralayer water–carboxylate O—H...O hydrogen bonds.     

Determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides in tea by matrix solid‐phase dispersion cleanup followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

Matrix solid‐phase dispersion combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed as a new sample pretreatment method for the determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides (chlorsulfuron, bensulfuron‐methyl, chlorimuron‐ethyl, and pyrazosulfuron) in tea by high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The extraction and cleanup by matrix solid‐phase dispersion was carried out by using CN‐silica as dispersant and carbon nanotubes as cleanup sorbent eluted with acidified dichloromethane. The eluent of matrix solid‐phase dispersion was evaporated and redissolved in 0.5 mL methanol, and used as the dispersive solvent of the following dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction procedure for further purification and enrichment of the target analytes before high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis. Under the optimum conditions, the method yielded a linear calibration curve in the concentration range from 5.0 to 10 000 ng/g for target analytes with a correlation coefficients (r²) ranging from 0.9959 to 0.9998. The limits of detection for the analytes were in the range of 1.31–2.81 ng/g. Recoveries of the four sulfonylurea herbicides at two fortification levels were between 72.8 and 110.6% with relative standard deviations lower than 6.95%. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of four sulfonylurea herbicides in several tea samples.     

Separation and concentration of sulfonylurea herbicides in milk by ionic‐liquid‐based foam flotation solid‐phase extraction

The ultrasound‐assisted ionic liquid foam flotation solid‐phase extraction of sulfonylurea herbicides in milk was developed and validated. The proteins and lipids were isolated from the sample matrix by adding salt and adjusting the pH value. The target analytes eluted from the solid‐phase extraction cartridge were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Some experimental parameters, including the pH value of sample solution, amount of NaCl, ionic liquid type, extraction time, flow rate of carrier gas, flotation time, and solid‐phase extraction cartridge type were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the limits of detection for metsulfuron, pyrazosulfuron, chlorimuron‐ethyl, and nicosulfuron were 1.3, 0.6, 0.7, and 1.1 μg/L, respectively. When the present method was applied to the analysis of milk samples the recoveries of the analytes ranged from 84.3 to 105.2% and relative standard deviations were >5.7%.     

Preparation of novel ionic‐liquid‐modified magnetic nanoparticles by a microwave‐assisted method for sulfonylurea herbicides extraction

Ionic liquids immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by an efficient microwave‐assisted synthesis method, and the properties of the ionic liquids were tuned based on the aromatic functional modification of its anion through a simple metathesis reaction. The novel as‐synthesized magnetic materials were characterized by various instrumental techniques. The magnetic nanoparticles have been utilized as adsorbents for the extraction of four sulfonylurea herbicides in tea samples, in combination with high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis. Significant extraction parameters, including type and volume of desorption solvent, extraction time, amount of adsorbent, and ionic strength were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 1–150 μg/L for metsulfuron‐methyl and bensulfuron‐methyl, and 3–150 μg/L for sulfometuron‐methyl and chlorimuron‐ethyl, with correlation coefficients R² > 0.9987. Low limits of detection were obtained ranging from 0.13 to 0.81 μg/L. The relative standard deviations were 1.8–3.9%. Comparisons of extraction efficiency with conventional solid‐phase extraction equipped with a commercial C₁₈ cartridge were performed. Results indicated that magnetic solid‐phase extraction is simple, time‐saving, efficient and inexpensive with the reusability of adsorbents. The proposed method has been successfully used to determine sulfonylurea herbicides from tea samples with satisfactory recoveries of 80.5–104.2%.