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Simultaneous Determination of Atrazine, Pendimethalin, and Trifluralin in Fish Samples by QuEChERS Extraction Coupled With Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection

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Abstract

A rapid, simple, and dependable method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of atrazine, pendimethalin, and trifluralin in fish samples. Target analytes were extracted and purified by the modified QuEChERS method prior to analysis. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (10 min) was used to improve the extraction efficiency of classical acetonitrile extraction. The organic phase was then cleaned using dispersive solid-phase extraction with 150 mg primary secondary amine and 100 mg C18-bonded silica sorbents. GC with electron capture detection was used for determination. The method resulted in good linearity (R2 = 0.9973–0.9998) and low limits of detection and quantification (0.015–0.60 and 0.050–2.0 μg kg−1). Recoveries ranged from 76.8 to 94.6% with repeatability between 2.3 and 3.8% and reproducibility between 3.4 and 4.8%. The performance parameters demonstrated the method adequacy for the detection and quantification of atrazine, pendimethalin, and trifluralin residues in freshwater fish.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (No. 201503108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Zhang, Zhipeng Qu, Bin Li & Zhaoguang Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Water Environment and Agriculture Product Safety, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Zhang & Zhaoguang Yang

  3. Center for Environment and Water Resources, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaoguang Yang

Authors
  1. Ting Zhang
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  2. Zhipeng Qu
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  3. Bin Li
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Correspondence to Ting Zhang or Zhaoguang Yang.

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Ting Zhang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Zhipeng Qu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Bin Li declares that he has no conflict of interest. Zhaoguang Yang declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Zhang, T., Qu, Z., Li, B. et al. Simultaneous Determination of Atrazine, Pendimethalin, and Trifluralin in Fish Samples by QuEChERS Extraction Coupled With Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detection. Food Anal. Methods 12, 1179–1186 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-019-01449-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-019-01449-z

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