Analysis of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables by matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) and different gas chromatography element-selective detectors

Summary

A comparison between different element selective detectors for the determination of organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticide residues, from fruit and vegetables, was performed by capillary GC with electron capture detector (ECD), nitrogen phosphorus detector (NPD), flame photometric detector (FPD) in the sulphur and phosphorus modes, and mass spectrometry detector (MSD) in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Pesticides were extracted from the different foodstuffs by Matrix Solid Phase Dispersion (MSPD). Recoveries of 41–108 % with relative standard deviation of 2–14 % in the concentration range 0.5–10 μg L⁻¹ were obtained in oranges, lemons, grapefruit, pears, plums, lettuces and tomatoes. The results demonstrated that the extracts of all the samples can be analyzed by the detectors used since no interfering co-extracted compounds were detected.