284
Views
11
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Analysis of pesticide residues in melon using QuEChERS extraction and liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

, &
Pages 1219-1229 | Received 26 Oct 2014, Accepted 23 Feb 2015, Published online: 07 Apr 2015
 

Abstract

A rapid, precise and efficient method for the determination of seven insecticides (chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, deltamethrin, thiamethoxam, thiacloprid, pirimicarb and indoxacarb) and three fungicides (azoxystrobin, fluopicolide and propamocarb hydrochloride) in melon by employing quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe extraction method coupled with liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed and validated by evaluating the accuracy, precision, linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The average recoveries of the selected pesticides ranged from 82% to 106% with RSDr ≤6% in four fortification levels of 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg. The correlation coefficient (R2) was ≥0.997 for all the selected pesticides when matrix-matched calibration standards were used. The LOD values ranged from 0.001 to 0.003 mg/kg, and the LOQ was determined at 0.01 mg/kg for all the analytes. Matrix effect was evaluated, and it was found considerable for thiamethoxam and deltamethrin (−53% and +135%, respectively). Finally, this method was applied for the residue analysis of 122 fresh melon samples collected from different market places in Thessaloniki, Greece. Among the 122 analysed samples, 32 (26% of the total no. of samples) were found to have pesticide residues. None of the samples contained residues above the European Union-Maximum Residue Levels. The most frequently detected pesticides were fluopicolide and thiamethoxam.

Additional information

Funding

PMDH is grateful to the State Scholarship Foundation of Greece (IKY), for the financial support to pursue his PhD.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,223.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.