Analysis of Phosmet and Azinphos-Methyl in Apples by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method has been developed to analyze two organophosphate insecticides (phosmet and azinphosmethyl) in apples. The procedure includes a novel extraction whereby whole apples are sonicated for 2 min in 100 ml of MeOH to remove the pesticides. Reversed-phase HPLC separation was accomplished with an Ultremex C18 column and acetonitrile:methanol:water as the eluent. Detection was at 224 nm for phosmet and 300 nm for azinphos-methyl. For both pesticides the limit of detection was 0.5 ppb and the linearity was from 1 to 405 ng injected. Average recoveries were 80% for phosmet and 86% for azinphos-methyl. Thirteen apple varieties comprising 240 apples were analyzed from supermarkets and roadside stands for phosmet (amount found ranged from none detected to 1233 ppb) and azinphos-methyl (amount found ranged from none detected to 388 ppb). Confirmation of phosmet and azinphos-methyl was made by UV spectral scans.