Gel Permeation Chromatography Purification and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Detection of Multi-Pesticide Residues in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

The measurement of 23 organochlorine, organophosphorus, and pyrethroid pesticides in typical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), flos lonicerae, was made using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) purification and gas chroma- tography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detection. The pesticides were extracted with ultrasonic device and 5.0 mL mixture of ethyl acetate and cyclohexane (1:1, v/v). Coextractants from sample matrices which may have interfere to the qualitative and quantitative analysis, such as pigments, were removed using GPC purification. Simultaneous full scan and selective ion monitor (scan/SIM) mode for GC-MS was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis, which pro- vided retention time and characteristic fragments ratio for each pesticide so as to positively identify each analyte. Rela- tive standard deviations (RSDs) were within 7.7% (5.0 - 22.5 μg/kg, n = 3). The recoveries of pesticide standards at the spiked concentration of 5.0 - 22.5 μg/kg were between 87.1% and 110.9%. Limits of detection (LODs) for the analytes were 0.16 - 3.2 μg/kg, which could meet the demand of routine analysis and TCM quality control.