Multiresidue analysis of pesticides in vegetables and fruits using two-layered column with graphitized carbon and water absorbent polymer

Abstract

A high-throughput multiresidue analysis of pesticides in non-fatty vegetables and fruits was developed. The method consisted of a single extraction and a single clean-up procedure. Food samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and the mixture of extract and food dregs were poured directly into the clean-up column. The clean-up column consisted of two layers of water-absorbent polymer (upper) and graphitized carbon (lower), which were packed in a reservoir (75 ml ) of a cartridge column. The polymer removed water in the extract while the carbon performed clean-up. In a recovery test, 110 pesticides were spiked and average recoveries were more than 95% from spinach and orange. Most pesticides were recovered in the range 70–115% with RSD usually <10% for five experiments. The residue analyses were performed by the extraction of 12 pesticides from 13 samples. The two methods resulted in similar residue levels except chlorothalonil in celery, for which the result was lower with the proposed method. The results confirmed that the proposed method could be applied to monitoring of pesticide residue in foods.