Determination of fungicides in water using liquid phase microextraction and gas chromatography with electron capture detection

A hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and gas chromatographic-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) method for the determination of six fungicides (chlorothalonil, hexaconazole, penconazole, procymidone, tetraconazole, and vinclozolin) in 3 ml of water was described. The method used 3 μl of toluene as extraction solvent, 20 min extraction time with pH 4, stirring at 870 rpm, and no salt addition. The enrichment factors of this method were from 135 to 213. Limits of detection were in the range of 0.004-0.025 μg/l. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) at 0.1 and 5 μg/l of spiking levels were in the range 3-8%. Recoveries of six fungicides from farm water at a spiking level of 0.5 μg/l were between 90.7 and 97.6%. The method compared favorably with the traditional method in terms of the sample size, analysis time, and cost.