Screening and analysis of polar pesticides in environmental monitoring programmes by coupled-column liquid chromatography and gas chromatography—mass spectrometry

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A 1996-11, Vol.754 (1), p.49-60
• Main Authors: Hogendoorn, E.A., Hoogerbrugge, R., Baumann, R.A., Meiring, H.D., de Jong, A.P.J.M., van Zoonen, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chromatography, Liquid - methods; Coupled columns; Derivatization, GC; Environmental analysis; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Pesticide Residues - analysis; Pesticides; Water analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0021-9673
• DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9673(96)00376-7

Screening and analysis of polar pesticides based on coupled-column reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC-LC) and GC- or LC-MS is a powerful tool in the execution of environmental monitoring programmes. This paper presents a unified approach utilising LC-LC screening followed by GC-MS confirmation. As polar pesticides are not generally amenable to GC a widely applicable derivation technique is used. The results demonstrate that the proposed LC and MS techniques are capable of analysing a wide range of polar pesticides down to levels of 0.1 μg/1 (EU limit for drinking water). LC switching techniques for group analysis or individual compounds rely on the reversed-phase retention and the UV detectability of the pesticides in combination with the choice of the LC columns. Fast miniaturised derivatization prior to GC-MS forms an integral part in the proposed strategy. In order to avoid extraction losses, derivation in the aqeous sample, preferably with electrophoric reagents with enhanced sensitivity in GC-NICI-MS are employed where possible. In this communication, method development and validation fitting in the strategy are evaluated and the results of the combined approach are discussed.