Determination of Pesticides, Elements, and Stable Isotopes in Strawberries

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted on strawberries sold on Romanian markets, and its scope was to illustrate the pesticide and elemental concentrations. To emphasize these differences, the stable isotopic ratios of ²H/¹H, ¹⁸O/¹⁶O, and ¹³C/¹²C were also determined. A total of 17 samples were analyzed; only one included a measurable concentration of the fungicide iprodione (8.6 µg/kg). Pearson correlation results established only positive correlation between elemental concentrations. Only manganese and calcium were uncorrelated. Principal component analysis extracted four principal components, explaining a total variance of 81.990%. Every parameter was loaded by specific elements.

KEYWORDS:

• Gas chromatography–electron capture detector
• gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
• inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
• isotopic ratio mass spectrometry
• pesticides
• strawberries