In-package nonthermal plasma degradation of pesticides on fresh produce

N N Misra; S K Pankaj; Tony Walsh; Finbarr O'Regan; Paula Bourke; P J Cullen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.02.005

In-package nonthermal plasma degradation of pesticides on fresh produce

J Hazard Mater. 2014 Apr 30:271:33-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.02.005. Epub 2014 Feb 12.

Authors

N N Misra¹, S K Pankaj¹, Tony Walsh², Finbarr O'Regan², Paula Bourke¹, P J Cullen³

Affiliations

¹ BioPlasma Research Group, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 1, Ireland.
² National Pesticide Laboratory, The State Laboratory, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Backweston Laboratory Campus, Celbridge, Kildare, Ireland.
³ BioPlasma Research Group, School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin 1, Ireland; School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: pjcullen@dit.ie.

PMID: 24598029
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.02.005

Abstract

In-package nonthermal plasma (NTP) technology is a novel technology for the decontamination of foods and biological materials. This study presents the first report on the potential of the technology for the degradation of pesticide residues on fresh produce. A cocktail of pesticides, namely azoxystrobin, cyprodinil, fludioxonil and pyriproxyfen was tested on strawberries. The concentrations of these pesticides were monitored in priori and post-plasma treatment using GC-MS/MS. An applied voltage and time dependent degradation of the pesticides was observed for treatment voltages of 60, 70 and 80 kV and treatment durations ranging from 1 to 5 min, followed by 24h in-pack storage. The electrical characterisation revealed the operation of the discharge in a stable filamentary regime. The discharge was found to generate reactive oxygen and excited nitrogen species as observed by optical emission spectroscopy.

Keywords: Dielectric barrier discharge; GC-MS/MS; Nonthermal plasma; Pesticide.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Dioxoles / analysis
Dioxoles / chemistry
Electrochemical Techniques
Food Contamination / prevention & control*
Fragaria*
Fruit
Fungicides, Industrial / analysis
Fungicides, Industrial / chemistry*
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Methacrylates / analysis
Methacrylates / chemistry
Ozone / analysis
Pesticide Residues / analysis
Pesticide Residues / chemistry*
Pyridines / analysis
Pyridines / chemistry
Pyrimidines / analysis
Pyrimidines / chemistry
Pyrroles / analysis
Pyrroles / chemistry
Strobilurins
Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

Dioxoles
Fungicides, Industrial
Methacrylates
Pesticide Residues
Pyridines
Pyrimidines
Pyrroles
Strobilurins
pyriproxyfen
cyprodinil
Ozone
fludioxonil
azoxystrobin