Determination of pyrethroid pesticide residues in vegetables by solvent sublation followed by high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

A novel method is developed for separating and enriching pyrethroid pesticides from vegetables by solvent sublation, and determination of the pyrethroids is performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The effects of organic solvent, pH of the solution, nitrogen flow rate, and sublation time on the sublation efficiency of pyrethroids are investigated in detail, and the optimal conditions of the solvent sublation are selected. The floated product of vegetables in the optimal conditions is determined by HPLC. The limit of detection values range from 1.4 μg/kg (for bifenthrin) to 4.2 μg/kg (for fenpropathin). The recoveries of spiked vegetable samples are from 85.7% to 110.4%, and relative standard deviation values are from 1.70% to 6.19%. The results are satisfactory.