Quantitative analysis of acetamiprid and imidacloprid residues in tomato fruits under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

A selective liquid chromatographic analytical method was studied for determination of two neonicotinoids, acetamiprid and imidacloprid, in tomato fruits under greenhouse conditions in Egypt. The fruits were extracted and cleaned up by QuEChERS method followed by HPLC determination. The method showed a good linearity with a determination coefficient (R²) of higher than 0.99 for the 0.0125–0.15 µg/mL concentration range. The method was validated using a blank tomato spiked at 5, 25 and 50 mg/kg and the recovery percentages were 83.71, 94.52 and 97.49% for acetamiprid and 88.59, 89.63 and 90.18% for imidacloprid, respectively. The rates of dissipation of both pesticides were studied and the preharvest intervals (PHIs) were calculated. Imidacloprid dissipated faster than acetamiprid and half-life periods were 1.30 and 2.07 days, respectively. Acetamiprid and imidacloprid residues were below the already established European maximum residue limits (EU MRLs) (0.5 mg/kg) 3 and 5 days after application, respectively.

Keywords:

• Half-life
• HPLC
• insecticide residues
• method validation
• PHI
• tomato fruits

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Misr El Kheir Foundation: Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Program to support this work by HPLC instrument under the project code LGA05130114.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Availability of data and materials

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Mohamed E. I. Badawy upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any grant and specific funding from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.