Permethrin (PM) is one of the chiral insecticides most widely used around the world. The significant differential toxicity of its four enantiomers and its important adverse effects on human health highlights the need for determination of PM enantiomers. The aim of this work was to develop the first enantioselective method for quantification of PM in fruits and vegetables. The method is based on the extraction of PM enantiomers in supramolecular solvents with restricted access properties (SUPRAS-RAM) and their separation/detection by chiral liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) which is first reported in this article. SUPRAS-RAM-based extraction is proposed as an innovative treatment approach that drastically reduces solvent consumption and avoids the need for sample cleanup. Extraction of PM enantiomers is quick (vortexing for 5 min) and efficient (recoveries 93-107%). The method is sensitive (quantification limits from 1.0 to 1.2 μg kg-1) and suitable for control of PM enantiomers in agri-food products.
Keywords: Supramolecular solvents; chiral liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; fruits; permethrin enantiomers; vegetables.