Sample preparation based on matrix solid-phase dispersion and solid-phase extraction cleanup for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in fish.

A method based on matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) and SPE to determine 20 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fish tissues (muscle and liver) was optimized in terms of the sorbents and elution solvents used for the analysis. The following analytical components were evaluated: ENVI-CarbTM and ENVI-18 as dispersing agents, Florisil and Florisil over alumina as cleanup adsorbents, and hexane and hexane-ethyl acetate (80 + 20) as elution solvents. The pesticides were determined by GC with electron capture detection. The best results were obtained with ENVI-Carb as a dispersing agent and an ENVI-Florisil co-column using 40 mL hexane-ethyl acetate (80 + 20) as the elution solvent. Analytical recoveries ranged between 75 and 130% except for beta-HCH in fish liver, and the RSD values were < 15% for most of the pesticides studied. Furthermore, sensitivity was sufficient (LOD of < 300 microg/kg) for all OCPs under study, in compliance with the tolerance limits of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for OCPs in fish. The results were compared with those obtained by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) in order to evaluate the performance of the MSPD procedure. The MPSD methodology was shown to be easy to use and fast, with a clear advantage relative to cost, because it does not need the expensive equipment required for MAE and PLE.

Pressurized liquid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction in the determination of organochlorine pesticides in fish muscle samples.

This paper describes a comparative study of 2 extraction methods, pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fish muscle samples. In both cases, samples were extracted with hexane-acetone (50 + 50), and the extracts were purified by solid-phase extraction using a carbon cartridge as the adsorbent. Pesticides were eluted with hexane-ethyl acetate (80 + 20) and determined by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. Both methods demonstrated good linearity over the range studied (0.005-0.100 microg/mL). Detection limits ranged from 0.029 to 0.295 mg/kg for PLE and from 0.003 to 0.054 mg/kg for MAE. For most of the pesticides, analytical recoveries with both methods were between 80 and 120%, and the relative standard deviations were < 10%. The proposed methods were shown to be powerful techniques for the extraction of OCPs from fish muscle samples. Although good recovery rates were obtained with both extraction methods, MAE provided advantages with regard to sample handling, cost, analysis time, and solvent consumption. Acceptable validation parameters were obtained although MAE was shown to be more sensitive than PLE.

Organochlorine pesticides accumulation and degradation products in vegetation samples of a contaminated area in Galicia (NW Spain).

The content of 21 organochlorine pesticides were studied in vegetation samples of a highly contaminated area by isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) located close to a former industrial area in Galicia (NW Spain). Five species of plants were collected at different points of the contaminated area and the different parts of the plants were separated in order to study differences in accumulation capabilities. Samples were extracted employing microwave energy followed by a clean-up step using solid phase extraction and finally determined by GC-ECD. The results obtained show that the most abundant pesticides are HCHs isomers, being the main isomers beta-HCH and alpha-HCH in all samples whereas delta-HCH and gamma-HCH were at lower levels. Some other pesticides such as p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDE were also present in much lower amount in some of the samples. Several degradation products of HCH were also identified in some samples by GC-MS.