Derivatization and Determination of MCPA in Soil by GC

A reliable and sensitive method for determination of MCPA in soil by derivatization through p-toluenesulfonic acid and 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol followed by gas chromatographic detection under ECD mode has been established. After treatment with hydrochloric acid, the soil samples were directly extracted without any clean-up with dichloromethane by vortexing. After derivatization and liquid–liquid extraction, the product was subjected to GC analysis. Under optimized conditions, recovery of MCPA reached 87–91%; intra- and inter-day precision values were recorded in the range 3.4–6.4% and 7.4–8.7%, respectively. Excellent linear relationship was observed within 0.1–10 μg mL^?1 (0.005–0.5 mg kg^?1) with linear correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9997. The LOD and LOQ were 0.001 and 0.0026 mg kg^?1, respectively, and the overall sensitivity for detection was found to be in the same range as with the conventional GC-MS technique.