Combination of dispersive solid-phase extraction and salting-out homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in cereal grains

Abstract

A new analytical method for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides in cereal samples was developed by combining dispersive SPE (d-SPE) and salting-out homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction (SHLLE). The pesticides were first extracted from cereal grains with acetonitrile, followed by d-SPE cleanup. A 2 mL aliquot of the extract was then added to a centrifuge tube containing 9.2 mL water and 3.3 g NaCl for SHLLE. Analysis of the extract was carried out by gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detection. The d-SPE procedure effectively provides the necessary cleanup of the extract while SHLLE is used as an efficient concentration technique. Experimental parameters influencing the extraction efficiency including amounts of added water and salt were investigated. Recovery studies were carried out at three fortification levels, yielding recoveries in the range of 57.7-98.1% with the RSD from 3.7 to 10.9%. The reported limits of determination obtained from this study were 1 μg/kg, which is better than the conventional methods. In the analysis of 40 wheat and corn samples taken from Beijing suburbs, only two wheat samples have chlorpyrifos residue over the limits of determination.

Keywords: Cereals; Dispersive solid-phase extraction; Homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction; Organophosphorus pesticides.