Rapid and sensitive determination of phenylurea herbicides in water in the presence of their anilines by extraction with a Carbopack cartridge followed by liquid chromatography

A rapid and sensitive method for determining phenylurea herbicides in environmental aqueous samples in the presence of their anilines is described. The water sample is preconcentrated by passage at a flow-rate of ca. 150 ml/min through a 250-mg graphitized carbon black (Carbopack B) cartridge. After washing with 0.6 ml of methanol, the Carbopack B trap is connected with a cartridge containing a strong cation exchanger. Organics trapped by the Carbopack cartridge are eluted by passage of 6 ml of methylene chloride-methanol (95:5, v/v). Anilines and other basic compounds are quantitatively subtracted from the solvent system while flowing through the cation-exchange cartridge. After evaporation and redissolution, the sample is subjected to reversed-phase gradient elution high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection at 250 nm. Recoveries of phenylureas added to water at levels between 30 and 3000 ng/l were higher than 92%. The limit of detection was about 1 ng/l, for a 2-1 sample. With respect to an octadecyl (C18)-bonded silica cartridge, the Carbopack B cartridge had a far better extraction efficiency for polar phenylureas.