Application of RP-HPLC-Diode Array Detector after SPE to the Determination of Pesticides in Pepper Samples

Abstract

Abstract The application of HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) after SPE for identification and quantitative analysis of pesticides in red and green pepper samples is demonstrated. An HPLC procedure on an RP column (C18) was developed for analysis of selected pesticides from different chemical groups: metamitron, metalaxyl, linuron, and prometryn. Average recoveries for C18 Polar Plus cartridges and solvents by the proposed RP-HPLC-DAD method after SPE are presented. Average recoveries from the spiked samples and the SDs were 22.5 ± 2.2, 138.0 ± 4.1, 78.6 ± 2.8, and 109.2 ± 2.3% for metamitron, metalaxyl, linuron, and prometryn, respectively, at concentrations of 7 μg/g in the plant material. The efficiency of the SPE procedure was evaluated using real food samples. The quantities of prometryn, linuron, metalaxyl, and metamitron determined were in the ranges of 0.02–2.24 μg/g (n = 24), 0.08–1.01 μg/g (n = 9), 1.61–2.28 μg/g (n = 4), and 0.05–1.07 μg/g (n = 3), respectively, in plant material sampled in 2011. The method was validated for precision, repeatability, and accuracy.