Abstract
Aim: To study the quantification of pesticides in 89 rice samples using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Introduction: Monitoring pesticide residue in food matrices at very low concentrations is challenging work for an analyst and requires a valuable analytical technique.
Material and Methods: In the current study, the dispersive solid– liquid extraction method was employed for quantification of different pesticides by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) electrospray ionization (ESI) (with a minimum run time of 10 minutes).
Results: Twenty-two molecules were identified in the eighty-nine samples collected from different locations in the Delhi NCR region. Of these, eight samples were found to be contaminated with pesticide residues such as clothianidin (avg.conc. of 0.063 mg/kg), imidacloprid (avg. conc. of 0.064 mg/kg), thiamethoxam (avg. conc. 0.051 mg/kg), and tricyclazole (avg. conc. 0.044 mg/kg). Clothianidin and imidacloprid were found to be below the maximum residual limit (MRL) value, whereas thiamethoxam and tricyclazole were found to be above the MRL values as per the EU Guidelines.
Conclusion: The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.0025 and 0.005 mg/kg, respectively. The mean recovery was found to be within the range of 70-120% as per the SANTE 11312 guideline.