Development of QuEChERS-DLLME method for determination of neonicotinoid pesticide residues in grains by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Lingfei Ma; Yanfei Wang; Haipu Li; Fangyuan Peng; Bo Qiu; Zhaoguang Yang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127190

Development of QuEChERS-DLLME method for determination of neonicotinoid pesticide residues in grains by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Food Chem. 2020 Nov 30:331:127190. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127190. Epub 2020 May 30.

Authors

Lingfei Ma¹, Yanfei Wang¹, Haipu Li², Fangyuan Peng¹, Bo Qiu¹, Zhaoguang Yang³

Affiliations

¹ Center for Environment and Water Resources, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, PR China.
² Center for Environment and Water Resources, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, PR China. Electronic address: lihaipu@csu.edu.cn.
³ Center for Environment and Water Resources, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, PR China. Electronic address: zgyang@csu.edu.cn.

PMID: 32562982
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127190

Abstract

Monitoring neonicotinoid residues in grains is of significant interest for the proper assessment of pesticide exposure to human. The quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extraction method combined with dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (QuEChERS-DLLME) was developed for extracting, purifying, and concentrating seven common neonicotinoid pesticides from the grains (rice, millet, and maize). Water and acetonitrile were used in tandem as extractants in QuEChERS, while water, acetonitrile, and trichloromethane in DLLME acted as the external phase, dispersant, and extractant, respectively. Comprehensive consideration of the single factor test and response surface method to optimize parameters including type and volume of extractants and dispersant. The evaluation showed that the QuEChERS-DLLME method held excellent linearity (R² > 0.99). The limits of quantitation ranged from 0.003 to 0.08 µg kg^-1 for the seven insecticides. The recoveries were in the range of 62-118%, and good reproducibility was obtained with a relative standard deviation below 15%.

Keywords: Central composite design; Grains; Neonicotinoids; Plackett-Burman; QuEChERS-DLLME.

MeSH terms

Acetonitriles / chemistry
Chromatography, Liquid / methods
Edible Grain / chemistry*
Food Contamination / analysis*
Insecticides / analysis
Limit of Detection
Liquid Phase Microextraction / methods*
Neonicotinoids / analysis*
Oryza / chemistry
Pesticide Residues / analysis*
Reproducibility of Results
Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*
Zea mays / chemistry

Substances

Acetonitriles
Insecticides
Neonicotinoids
Pesticide Residues
acetonitrile