Simultaneous Determination of 118 Pesticides in Vegetables
by Atmospheric Pressure Gas Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry
and QuEChERs Based on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
posted on 2021-08-24, 20:29authored byYi 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.