Determination of pesticide residues in sugarcane honey by QuEChERS and liquid chromatography

Abstract

This paper aims at describing a method to determine the pesticides 2,4-D, diuron and fipronil in sugarcane honey. The QuEChERS method was employed for extraction and the quantification was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC DAD) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization source (LC-ESI-MS/MS). After the optimization of the extraction parameters and the determination of the pesticides, the method was validated by evaluating the analytical curve, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision (repeatability) and accuracy (recovery). Due to the occurrence of matrix effect, the quantification was performed using the analytical standards prepared in the blank matrix extract. The method provided limits of detection in the range of 0.016-0.1 mg kg-1 by HPLC-DAD and 0.00016-0.0008 mg kg-1 by LC-ESI-MS/MS. The method was applied to the determination of pesticides in sugarcane honey. © 2012 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.