LC/MS/MS Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Dates on the Ascentis® Express RP-Amide Column after QuEChERS Extraction
Materials
Analytical column
Standard
Carbendazim
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandAldicarb
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandMethomyl
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandThiacloprid
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandMethabenzthiazuron
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandTriazophos
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandTrichlorfon
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandSpinetoram solution
100 μg/mL in acetonitrile, certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, SwitzerlandPyraflufen-ethyl
certified reference material, TraceCERT®, Manufactured by: Sigma-Aldrich Production GmbH, Switzerlandaccessory
sample prep
Supel™ QuE
Empty Centrifuge Tube with Lid, centrifuge tube volume 50 mL, pk of 50, suitable for EN 15662:2008 per BSSupel™ QuE
PSA Tube, pk of 50, AOAC® 2007.01, centrifuge tube volume 15 mL , Shaker Compatiblesubstrate
CONDITIONS
sample/matrix
5 g ground dates spiked with pesticides at 10 ng/g
extraction process
add 10 mL water and 10 mL acetonitrile; shake 1 hr at 2500 rpm; add contents of Supel QuE citrate extraction tube (55227-U); . (shake for 1 minute; centrifuge at 5000 rpm fo 5 minutes and draw off supernatant)
clean-up tube
Supel QuE PSA/C18 (55288-U)
clean-up process
transfer 1 mL of the extract to 2 mLSupel QuE PSA/C18 tube; shake for 1 minute; centrifuge at 5000 rpm for 3 min; draw off supernatant for analysis.
sample preparation
Dilute 100 μL of cleaned extract to a final volume of 1 mL in 5 mM ammonium formate/0.1% formic acid in water; transfer diluted sample to vial for LC/MS/MS analysis
column
Ascentis Express RP-Amide, 10 cm x 2.1 mm I.D., 2 μm particles (51576-U)
mobile phase
(A) 5 mM ammonium formate with 0.1% formic acid in water; (B) 5 mM ammonium formate with 0.1% formic acid in 95:5 acetonitrile:H2O
gradient
held at 5% B from 0 to 1 min; to 100% B in 13 min; held at 100% B for 1.5 min; to 95% A in 0.5 min; held at 95% A for 1.5 min
flow rate
0.4 mL/min
column temp.
30 °C
detector
MS, ESI (+), MRM
injection
5 μL
Description
Application
Freeze dates with liquid nitrogen and grind to a homogenous mixture.
Analysis Note
The “quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe” (QuEChERS) method can be used to analyze multiple pesticide residues found in dates. In this study, QuEChERS extraction and cleanup using PSA/C18 were used for the analysis of pesticide residues of interest in pistachios. Average recoveries obtained for replicate samples spiked at 10 ng/g were in the range of 70-120% for 23 of the 25 pesticides analyzed.
Legal Information
Ascentis is a registered trademark of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany