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High-Throughput Methodology for the Determination of 33 Carbamates in Herbal Products by UHPLC–MS/MS

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Abstract

In this work, a new method for the determination of 33 carbamates (including some metabolites) in different teas, chamomile, and other herbal products intended for infusions, by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, is proposed. Quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) methodology was evaluated as sample treatment, and after optimizing the cleanup step (dispersive solid-phase extraction), matrix effects were reduced around 30 % for most of the considered pesticides in relation to those obtained with the extraction procedure without an additional cleanup. The method allowed recoveries between 74 and 101 %, with relative standard deviations lower than 7 % at three concentration levels (5, 20, and 50 μg kg−1). Limits of quantification ranged from 1.9 to 4.0 μg kg−1, therefore below maximum residue limits established for this type of samples.

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Abbreviations

MeCN:

Acetonitrile

ALD:

Aldicarb

ALDSFN:

Aldicarbsulfone

ALDSFX:

Aldicarbsulfoxide

ASL:

Asulam

BFU:

Benfurocarb

BY:

Benomyl

BTH:

Benthiocarb

CAR:

Carbaryl

CRB:

Carbamate

CBZ:

Carbendazim

CF:

Carbofuran

CY:

Cymoxanil

dSPE:

Dispersive solid-phase extraction

DETH:

Diethofencarb

ESI:

Electrospray ionization

ETH:

Ethiofencarb

ETHSFN:

Ethiofencarbsulfone

ETHSFX:

Ethiofencarbsulfoxide

EFSA:

European Food Safety Agency

FEN:

Fenobucarb

FNX:

Fenoxycarb

FAO:

Food and agriculture organization

FURA:

Furathiocarb

GC:

Gas chromatography

3-CF:

3-Hydroxycarbofuran

ISO:

Isoprocarb

LOD:

Limit of detection

LOQ:

Limit of quantification

LC:

Liquid chromatography

MS:

Mass spectrometry

ME:

Matrix effect

MRLs:

Maximum residue limits

MeOH:

Methanol

MTH:

Methiocarb

MTHSFN:

Methiocarbsulfone

MTHSFX:

Methiocarbsulfoxide

MTY:

Methomyl

METOL:

Metolcarb

MRM:

Multiple reaction monitoring

NP:

Napropamid

OX:

Oxamyl

PIR:

Pirimicarb

PIRDES:

Pirimicarbdesmethyl

Q:

Precursor ion

PSA:

Primary–secondary amine

PR:

Promecarb

PRM:

Propamocarb

I:

Product ion

PX:

Propoxur

PY:

Pyraclostrobin

QuEChERS:

Quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe

S/N:

Signal to noise ratio

SPE:

Solid-phase extraction

QqQ:

Triple quadrupole

TH:

Thiodicarb

UHPLC:

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography

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Acknowledgments

JFHP thanks the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government for a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Andalusia Government (Excellence Project Ref: P12-AGR-1647).

Compliance with Ethics Requirements

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Conflict of Interest

David Moreno-González declares that he has no conflict of interest. José F. Huertas-Pérez declares that he has no conflict of interest. Laura Gámiz-Gracia declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ana M. García-Campaña declares that she has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Av. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain

    David Moreno-González, José F. Huertas-Pérez, Laura Gámiz-Gracia & Ana M. García-Campaña

Authors
  1. David Moreno-González
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  2. José F. Huertas-Pérez
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  3. Laura Gámiz-Gracia
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  4. Ana M. García-Campaña
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana M. García-Campaña.

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David Moreno-González and José F. Huertas-Pérez contributed equally to this work

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Moreno-González, D., Huertas-Pérez, J.F., Gámiz-Gracia, L. et al. High-Throughput Methodology for the Determination of 33 Carbamates in Herbal Products by UHPLC–MS/MS. Food Anal. Methods 8, 2059–2068 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-014-9998-0

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