Determination of Tuta absoluta pheromones in water and tomato samples by headspace–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

• Published in: Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2015-01, Vol.407 (3), p.795-802
• Main Authors: del Carmen Alcudia-León, María, Lucena, Rafael, Cárdenas, Soledad, Valcárcel, Miguel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABCs 13th Anniversary; Acetates; Acetates - analysis; Analytical Chemistry; Animals; Biochemistry; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromatography; Crops; Diseases and pests; Fatty Alcohols - analysis; Food Science; Gas chromatography; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Health aspects; Identification and classification; Insecticides; Insects; Intervals; Laboratory Medicine; Limit of Detection; Lycopersicon esculentum - chemistry; Lycopersicon esculentum - parasitology; Markers; Mass spectrometry; Mass Spectrometry - methods; Methods; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Moths; Moths - chemistry; Pests; Pheromones; Pheromones - analysis; Plant resistance; Research Paper; Scientific imaging; Spectroscopy; Spreads; Standard deviation; Tomatoes; Water - analysis; Water - chemistry; Water sampling
• ISSN: 1618-2642; 1618-2650
• DOI: 10.1007/s00216-014-7950-1

Tuta absoluta is a tomato pest which is originally from South America. This pest was detected in eastern Spain in 2006 and it rapidly invaded various European countries and spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. The usual detection of this pest is based on the physical evaluation of the crops and in the exhaustive count of potential insects in dedicated traps. The early detection of that pest on the basis of more objective or measurable indicators is desirable. In this case, the combination of headspace and gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection is proposed for the identification of Tuta absoluta pest using two of its pheromone components as markers. These components, namely: (3 E ,8 Z ,11 Z )-tetradecatrien-1-yl acetate and (3 E ,8 Z )-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate, are characteristic of Tuta absoluta and they are not present in other insect pheromones. The developed combination allows the determination of both components in water and tomato samples with limits of detection in the range from 25–32 ng/L to 89–111 ng/kg, respectively. The precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, was better than 4.6 % for water samples and better than 7.1 % when tomato samples were analyzed. The relative recovery values varied in the interval 94–100 and 83–99 % for water and tomato samples.