Application of solvent sublation for the determination of organophosphorous pesticides in vegetables by gas chromatography with a flame photometric detector.

An effective method for separating and enriching organophosphorous pesticides (OPPs) from vegetables by solvent sublation and the OPPs determination by gas chromatography with flame photometric detector (GC-FPD) has been developed. The effects of organic solvent, nitrogen flow rate, pH of the solution, sublation time etc. on the sublation efficiency of OPPs were investigated in detail, and the optimal conditions of solvent sublation were selected. The floated product of vegetables in the optimal conditions was determined by GC-FPD. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 1.2 microg kg-1 (for dimethoate) to 3.5 microg kg-1 (for chlorpyrifos). The recoveries of spiked vegetable samples were from 81.3 to 98.9%, and RSD values were from 0.46 to 4.83%. The results show that this method is simple, sensitive and rapid.