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Simultaneous Determination of 118 Pesticides in Vegetables by Atmospheric Pressure Gas Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry and QuEChERs Based on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

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posted on 2021-08-24, 20:29 authored by Yi Yang, Huanhuan Yu, Yunjia Yang, Jing Zhang, Jie Yin, Bing Shao
Pesticides are useful in agriculture but excessive usage of pesticides is hazardous to human health. Therefore, the pesticide residues in food are strictly monitored worldwide. In this study, a rapid method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 118 pesticides in vegetables by using atmospheric pressure gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (APGC–MS/MS) and purification by multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). We optimized the chromatography and mass spectrometric conditions and obtained the best APGC–MS/MS analytical conditions. The optimal outer diameter, length, and amount of MWCNTs were investigated. In addition, the copurification effects of MWCNTs combined with N-propylendiamine (PSA) and C18 were tested. The limits of quantitation (LOQs) of 118 pesticides by this method were 0.05–3.24 μg/kg, which were sensitive enough for detection of the maximum residue limits of target pesticides according to standards in China, Japan, the EU, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.A. The recoveries and RSDs of the 118 pesticides in the three vegetable matrices were 67.1–117.6% and 1.1–14.8%, respectively. We successfully used this method to detect pesticide residues in 93 vegetable samples. Together, our method would be suitable for the routine analysis of multiclass residues in vegetable samples, especially for food of international trade.

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