Analysis of pesticide residues using the Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) pesticide multiresidue method in combination with gas and liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometric detection

The Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe multiresidue method (QuEChERS) has been validated for the extraction of 80 pesticides belonging to various chemical classes from various types of representative commodities with low lipid contents. A mixture of 38 pesticides amenable to gas chromatography (GC) were quantitatively recovered from spiked lemon, raisins, wheat flour and cucumber, and determined using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). An additional mixture of 42 pesticides were recovered from oranges, red wine, red grapes, raisins and wheat flour, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for determination. The pesticides chosen for this study included many of the most frequently detected ones and/or those that are most often found to violate the maximum residue limit (MRL) in food samples, some compounds that have only recently been introduced, as well as a few other miscellaneous compounds. The method employed involved initial extraction in a water/acetonitrile system, an extraction/partitioning step after the addition of salt, and a cleanup step utilizing dispersive solid-phase extraction (D-SPE); this combination ensured that it was a rapid, simple and cost-effective procedure. The spiking levels for the recovery experiments were 0.005, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.2 mg kg(-1) for GC-MS/MS analyses, and 0.01 and 0.1 mg kg(-1) for LC-MS/MS analyses. Adequate pesticide quantification and identity confirmation were attained, even at the lowest concentration levels, considering the high signal-to-noise ratios, the very good accuracies and precisions, as well as the good matches between the observed ion ratios. Mean recoveries mostly ranged between 70 and 110% (98% on average), and relative standard deviations (RSD) were generally below 10% (4.3% on average). The use of analyte protectants during GC analysis was demonstrated to provide a good alternative to the use of matrix-matched standards to minimize matrix-effect-related errors. Based on these results, the methodology has been proven to be highly efficient and robust and thus suitable for monitoring the MRL compliance of a wide range of commodity/pesticide combinations.     

New strategies to screen for endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the Portuguese marine environment utilizing large volume injection–capillary gas chromatography–mass spectrometry combined with retention time locking libraries (LVI–GC–MS–RTL)

A new analytical strategy to screen for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in environmental matrices is presented. The strategy uses solid-phase extraction followed by large volume injection and capillary gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry combined with retention time locking libraries (SPE-LVI-GC-MS-RTL). Characterization of the proposed methodology (SPE-LVI-GC-MS) for selected classes of EDCs enabled high reproducibility and robustness at the ultratrace level. The RTL databases used allowed hundreds of non-target semivolatiles (i.e., pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and other classes of suspected EDCs from a great number of unknown environmental matrices) to be simultaneously screened for in an easy, fast and remarkable manner. The application of the proposed methodology to real environmental samples demonstrated its remarkable selectivity and sensitivity at the ultratrace level. Screening assessments performed on water and sediment matrices from eight Portuguese estuaries and coastal waters identified EDC "hotspots." These EDCs mainly come from agricultural and a wide variety of industrial sources, and include pesticides and pesticide metabolites, phenolic derivatives and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are included in the lists of priority substances published by international environmental agencies. The estuaries that contained relatively high levels of pesticides were Guadiana, Sado and Mondego, while Minho, Douro and Formosa showed enhanced levels of phenolic derivatives. Dibutyltin and tributyltin, selected as target compounds to be monitored by SPE-LVI-GC-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode, were shown to be widespread contaminants at trace levels in almost all of the sediment matrices assessed. The reliability of the proposed methodology undoubtedly makes it a valuable tool that could replace other analytical strategies currently used to screen for EDCs present in the environment at ultratrace levels.     

Application of an in-line imprinted polymer column in a potentiometric flow-injection chemical sensor to the determination of the carbamate pesticide carbaryl in complex biological matrices

A flow-injection biosensor-like system based on a nonenzymatic approach has been developed to determine the carbamate pesticide carbaryl in complex biological samples without lengthy and expensive extraction steps. Molecularly imprinted polymeric beads were used to immobilize carbaryl from biological samples. pH variation permitted the elution of carbaryl from the binding cavity to the flow cell. A pH electrode was used to detect changes in the charge of carbaryl in the sample solution resulting from the protonation and deprotonation of the molecule over different pH ranges. At pH 2.0, the secondary amine group is protonated, giving a (+1) charge to the carbaryl molecule. At pH 8.0, the ionized carbaryl loses a proton to become neutral, changing the local pH of the flow cell. The pH change at the flow cell generated by the deprotonation of carbaryl ion in alkaline medium was used to determine the carbaryl concentration. Parameters influencing the performance of the system were optimized for use in the detection procedure. The validated biosensor-like system had a carbaryl detection limit of 10.0 μg/mL and a response that was linear (r ² > 0.98) over the concentration range of 10.0–00 μg/mL.     

Assessment of priority pesticides,degradation products,and pesticide adjuvants in groundwaters and top soils from agricultural areas of the Ebro river basin

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was employed for the determination of 30 widely used pesticides including various transformation products and alkylphenols in water and agricultural soils with the aim of assessing the impact of these compounds in agricultural soils and the underlying aquifer. The extraction, clean-up, and analytical procedures were optimized for both water and soil samples to provide a highly robust method capable of determining target analytes at the ppb–ppt level with high precision. For water samples, different solid-phase extraction cartridges and conditions were optimized; similarly, pressurized liquid extraction conditions were tested to provide interference-free extracts and high sensitivity. Instrumental LODs of 3–4 pg were obtained. The multi-residue extraction procedures were applied to the analysis of groundwaters and agricultural soils from the Ebro river basin (NE Spain). Most ubiquitous herbicides detected were triazines but some acetanilides and organophosphorus pesticides were also found; the pesticide additive tributylphosphate was found in all water samples. Levels varied between 0.57 and 5.37 μg/L in groundwater, whereas nonylphenol was the sole compound detected in soil. Alkylphenols are used as adjuvants in pesticide formulations and are present in sludges employed as soil fertilizers. Occurrence was found to be similar to other environmental studies.     

Analysis of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables with ethyl acetate extraction using gas and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection

A multiresidue method based on extraction with ethyl acetate has been used at the Swedish National Food Administration since 1989 to monitor pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables. The method has been continuously adjusted, resulting in simple and quick analyses of pesticide residues. To recover basic pesticides, the addition of an alkali is necessary. The addition of sodium hydrogen carbonate has been shown to recover all pesticides effectively without any degradation. The liquid chromatography (LC) with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) technique has made it possible to analyse more polar pesticides and to replace many single methods. The latest development in the multiresidue method, comprising the use of gas chromatography (GC) with MS/MS, has further improved the analysis by replacing the conventional GC detectors. The need for cleanup has been reduced or eliminated entirely. Consequently, the method has been simplified in a way that makes it possible to recover all included analytes in many different matrices in one single extraction and to detect them either with GC-MS/MS or with LC-MS/MS.     

Study of photodegradation of the pesticide ethiofencarb in aqueous and non-aqueous media, by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A comparative photodegradation kinetic study of ethiofencarb [2-ethylthiomethyl(phenyl)-N-methylcarbamate] in aqueous and non-aqueous media (hexane and methanol), is carried out. After irradiation, the aqueous samples are extracted with isobutyl methyl ketone. Ethiofencarb and its metabolites are analyzed by GC in combination with nitrogen–phosphorus detection and MS, respectively. The degradation kinetics depend on the solvent polarity; the quickest pesticide transformation is in the aqueous medium and the slowest in hexane. The photoproducts are also dependent on the solvents. In the case of the aqueous solution, photocleavage of the carbon–sulphur bond gives 2-(methyl)phenyl-N-methylcarbamate as the main product, while methanol and hexane solutions show different photoproducts.     

Evaluation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction adsorbents of pesticides from agricultural, ornamental and forestal soils

A new, simple and cost-effective method based on the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as solid-phase extraction stationary phases is proposed for the determination of a group of seven organophosphorus pesticides (i.e. ethoprophos, diazinon, chlorpyriphos-methyl, fenitrothion, malathion, chlorpyriphos and phosmet) and one thiadiazine (buprofezin) in different kinds of soil samples (forestal, ornamental and agricultural) using gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection. Soils were first ultrasound extracted with 10 mL 1:1 methanol/acetonitrile (v/v) and the evaporated extract redissolved in 20 mL water (pH 6.0) was passed through 100 mg of MWCNTs of 10-15 nm o.d., 2-6 nm i.d. and 0.1-10 μm length. Elution was carried out with 20 mL dichloromethane. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, recovery, accuracy and selectivity. Matrix-matched calibration was carried out for each type of soil since statistical differences between the calibration curves constructed in pure solvent and in the reconstituted soil extract were found for most of the pesticides under study. Recovery values of spiked samples ranged between 54 and 91% for the three types of soils (limits of detection (LODs) between 2.97 and 9.49 ng g⁻¹), except for chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl and buprofezin which ranged between 12 and 54% (LODs between 3.14 and 72.4 ng g⁻¹), which are the pesticides with the highest soil organic carbon sorption coefficient (K_OC) values. Using a one-sample test (Student's t-test) with fortified samples at two concentration levels in each type of soil, no significant differences were observed between the real and the experimental values (accuracy percentages ranged between 87 and 117%). It is the first time that the adsorptive potential of MWCNTs for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from soils is investigated.     

Headspace solid phase microextraction in the determination of pesticides in water samples from the Okavango Delta with gas chromatography-electron capture detection and time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was optimized for the analysis of pesticides with gas chromatography electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Factors influencing the extraction efficiency such as fiber type, extraction mode and temperature, effect of ionic strength, stirring and extraction time were evaluated. The lowest pesticide concentrations that could be detected in spiked aliquots after HS-SPME–GC-ECD ranged from 0.0005 to 0.0032 μg L^{− 1}. Consequently hexachlorobenzene, trans-chlordane, 4,4′-DDD and 4,4′-DDE were detected in water samples after HS-SPME at concentrations ranging from 2.4 to 61.4 μg L^{− 1} that are much higher than the 0.1 μg L^{− 1} maximum limit of individual organochlorine pesticides in drinking water set by the European Community Directive. The same samples were cleaned with ISOLUTE C₁₈ SPE sorbent with an optimal acetone/n-hexane (1:1 v/v) mixture for the elution of analytes. No pesticides were detected after SPE clean-up and pre-concentration. Precision for both methods was satisfactory with relative standard deviations less than 20%. This work demonstrated the superiority of HS-SPME as a sample clean-up and pre-concentration technique for pesticides in water samples as well as the need to identify and control point sources of pesticides.     

Application of ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to the determination of multi-class pesticides in environmental and wastewater samples: Study of matrix effects

An ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) method for the determination of 37 pesticides (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) in environmental and wastewater has been developed. To efficiently combine UHPLC with MS/MS, a fast-acquisition triple quadrupole mass analyzer was used. This analyzer (minimum dwell time, 5 ms) allows acquiring up to three simultaneous transitions in the selected reaction monitoring mode for each compound assuring a reliable identification without resolution or sensitivity losses. A pre-concentration step based on solid-phase extraction using Waters Oasis HLB cartridges (0.2 g) was applied with a 100-fold pre-concentration factor along the whole analytical procedure. The method was validated based on European SANCO guidelines using surface, ground, drinking and treated water (from an urban solid residues treatment plant) spiked at two concentration levels (0.025 and 0.1 μg/L), the lowest having been established as the limit of quantification objective. The method showed excellent sensitivity, with instrumental limits of detection ranging from 0.1 to 7 pg. It was applied to environmental water samples (ground and surface water) as well as to samples of urban solid waste leachates (raw leachate and treated leachate after applying reversed osmosis) collected from a municipal treatment plant. Matrix effects have been studied in the different types of water samples analyzed, and several isotope-labelled internal standards have been evaluated as a way to compensate the signal suppression observed for most of the compounds studied, especially in wastewater samples. As a general remark, only those pesticides which response was corrected using their own isotope-labelled molecule, could be satisfactorily corrected in all type of samples, assuring in this way the accurate quantification in all matrix samples.     

Fast analysis of multiple pesticide residues in apple juice using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and multidimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A method for the rapid trace analysis of 24 residual pesticides in apple juice by multidimensional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (MD-GC/MS) using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed and optimized. Several parameters of the extraction procedure such as type and volume of extraction solvent, type and volume of dispersive solvent and salt addition were evaluated to achieve the highest yield and to attain the lowest detection limits. The DLLME procedure optimized consists in the formation of a cloudy solution promoted by the fast addition to the sample (5 ml) of a mixture of carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent, 100 μl) and acetone (dispersive solvent, 400 μl). The tiny droplets formed and dispersed among the aqueous sample solution are further joined and sedimented (85 μl) in the bottom of the conical test tube by centrifugation. Once extracted, all the 24 pesticides were directly injected and separated by a dual GC column system, comprising a short wide-bore DB-5 capillary column with low film thickness connected by a Deans switch system to a second chromatographic narrower column, with identical stationary phase. The instrumental setting used, in combination with carefully optimized operational fast GC and MS parameters, markedly decreased the retention times of the targeted analytes. The total chromatographic run was 8 min. Mean recoveries for apple juice spiked at three concentrations ranged from 60% to 105% and the intra-repeatability ranged from 1% to 21%. The limits of detection of the 24 pesticides ranged from 0.06 to 2.20 μg/L. In 2 of a total of 28 analysed samples were found residues of captan, although at levels below the maximum limit legal established.