Determination of indoxacarb enantiomer residues in vegetables, fruits, and soil by high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

An effective chiral analytical method was developed for the resolution and determination of indoxacarb enantiomers in cucumber, tomato, apple, pear, and soil samples. lndoxacarb enantiomers were separated on a Chiralpak® AS-H column with n-hexane-ethanol (95 + 5, v/v) as the mobile phase. Validation involved complete resolution of each enantiomer, plus determination of linearity, precision, LOD, and LOQ. The estimated LOD was 0.025-0.035 mg/kg, and the LOQ was 0.05 mg/kg for each indoxacarb enantiomer in different matrixes. The average recoveries of the pesticide from all matrixes ranged from 87.0 to 116.9% for fortification levels of 0.05, 0.1, and 5 mg/kg. The precision values associated with the analytical method, expressed as RSDr values, were <10.1% for the pesticide in all matrixes. This method can be used to evaluate environmental residues and the safety of agricultural products.