Sampling and Sample Preparation Techniques for the Analysis of Organophosphorus Pesticides in Soil Matrices

Abstract

Despite organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) benefits in controlling vector-borne diseases and noxious insects, the bioaccumulation and persistence in the soil system may metamorphose into new substances which could pose a serious threat to the ecosystems and human health. The generally low levels of OPPs residues and often the complexity of the soil matrix are the issues that researcher must deal with. Thus, it is essential to isolate and preconcentrate the OPPs from the matrix to reduce interference effects to obtain a reliable detection. Researchers have reported sample preparation techniques as a promising approach to improve analytical measurement of merits including recovery, precision, linearity, limit of detection, and limit of quantification. Under the selected conditions, limits of detection range between 0.001 and 143 ng/mL, and extraction recovery range between 5 and 154% were obtained. This review evaluates the challenges and opportunities, emphasizes the prospects of sampling techniques and various (micro)extraction coupled with chromatographic methods in different soil samples. Based on the finding, the extraction efficiency depended largely on the interaction between OPPs and extraction media. The fate, migration, toxicity impact, sampling procedure, and storage which influenced the sample preparation were comprehensively discussed.

Keywords:

• organophosphorus pesticides
• soil
• sample preparation
• extraction technique
• chromatographic methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by Ministry of Education Malaysia (Fundamental Research Grant Scheme–FRGS/1/2019/STG01/UITM/03/5).