SPE-UPLC-MS/MS for Determination of 36 Monomers of Alkylphenol Ethoxylates in Tea

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-04, Vol.28 (7), p.3216
• Main Authors: Lin, Qin, Qin, Yujie, Sun, Hezhi, Wang, Xinru, Yang, Mei, Zhang, Xinzhong, Zhou, Li, Luo, Fengjian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants; Alkylphenol ethoxylates; Chemical properties; Chromatography; Chromatography, Liquid; Endocrine disruptors; Extraction (Chemistry); Hormones; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Metabolism; Metabolites; Methods; Monomers; Pesticides; Phenols - chemistry; Physiological aspects; Scientific imaging; Solid phases; SPE; Surfactants; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Tea; UPLC–MS/MS; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules28073216

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) represent a non-ionic surfactant widely used as adjuvants in pesticide formulation, which is considered to cause an endocrine-disrupting effect. In the current study, we established a detection method for the APEOs residue in tea based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the simultaneous analysis of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) and octylphenol ethoxylates (OPEOs) by UPLC-MS/MS. In the spiked concentrations from 0.024 to 125.38 μg/kg for 36 monomers of APEOs ( = 3-20), the recoveries of APEOs range from 70.3-110.7% with RSD ≤ 16.9%, except for OPEO (61.8%) and NPEO (62.9%). The LOQs of OPEOs and NPEOs are 0.024-6.27 and 0.16-5.01 μg/kg, respectively. OPEOs and NPEOs are detected in 50 marketed tea samples with a total concentration of 0.057-12.94 and 0.30-215.89 µg/kg, respectively. The detection rate and the range of the monomers of NPEOs are generally higher than those of OPEOs. The current study provides a theoretical basis for the rational use of APEOs as adjuvants in commercial pesticide production.