MULTIYRESIDUE ANALYSIS OF PESTICIDES UTILIZING ADVANCED ANALYTICAL TOOLS

Abstract

The developments in analytical tools over the last two decades, especially in the field of chromatography and mass spectrometry, are enormous, and have greatly facilitated the implementation of highly efficient multiY-analyte, multiYclass residue analysis methods. On average, these modern technologies have offered a 10Y50fold improvement in the limits of quantification of the methods, and at least a 10Yfold increase in the number of analytes that a single method can target for residue testing in food and environmental matrices. The advancements in the speed and sensitivity of modern GCYMS and LCYMS instruments allow the analysis of hundreds of pesticides at very low levels in one analytical run. A typical worNflow for multiYresidue analysis comprises sample preYprocessing, extraction, cleanup and finally injection into the analytical instrument for qualitative identification and quantitative estimation of the pesticide residues. Screening of pesticide residues involves three approaches, namely reliable targetYoriented screening when certified reference standards are available to support compound identification and accurate quantification; screening for suspected analytes when a certified reference standard is not available; and screening for unNnowns based on high resolution mass spectrometry.