Abstract
Trichlorfon is a thermally unstable insecticide that can be easily decomposed to dichlorvos at high temperatures. In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of the residues of trichlorfon and dichlorvos in animal tissues. Trichlorfon and dichlorvos in animal tissues were extracted with dichloromethane, homogenized/shaken, concentrated, and determined by LC-MS/MS. The two insecticides can be effectively separated and individually determined. The limits of detection (LODs) of trichlorfon and dichlorvos were 0.04 and 0.07 µg kg−1, respectively; the limits of quantification (LOQs) of the two insecticides were both 5 µg kg−1. The average recoveries for three spiked blank samples at 10, 20 and 40 µg kg−1 were in the range 85–106%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 10.6%, which falls in a reasonable range for the analysis of the two insecticides in animal-derived foods. The method is fit-for-purpose for the simultaneous determination of residues of trichlorfon and dichlorvos in animal tissues.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr Lihu Yao for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported by grants (Numbers 30371006 and 30471214) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.