A Comprehensive Approach to Pesticide Residue Testing
6 Jan 2015In this application note, food commodities were fortified with pesticides and processed using the QuEChERS sample preparation technique. Samples were analyzed by both GCxGC-TOFMS and LC-MS/MS. The foods chosen varied in water, fat, and pigment content, so the ruggedness of QuEChERS as well as the performance of GCxGC-TOFMS and LC-MS/MS could be assessed. Commodities tested were red bell pepper, cucumber, black seedless grape, spinach, lemon, raisin, and hazelnut.
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Q-sep™ QuEChERS Tubes
Restek Corp.Q-sep™ QuEChERS Tubes for Pesticide Residue Analysis • Fast, simple sample extraction and cleanup using dSPE. • Fourfold increases in sample throughput. • Fourfold decreases in material cost. • Convenient, ready to use centrifuge tubes with ultra pure, preweighed adsorbent mixes. Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe, the QuEChERS ("catchers") method, developed by the USDA Eastern Regional Research Center, has become very popular for extraction and clean-up of pesticide residue samples. Our products are available in three centrifuge tube sizes to meet the needs of both extraction and cleanup of a wide variety of sample matrices following various methods. The researchers developed a simple two-step procedure. First, the homogenized samples are extracted and partitioned, using an organic solvent and salt solution. Then, the supernatant is further extracted and cleaned, using a dispersive SPE technique. Multiple adsorbents are placed in a centrifuge tube, along with the 1mL of organic solvent and the extracted residues partitioned from step 1. The contents are thoroughly mixed, then centrifuged, producing a clean extract ready for a variety of GC or HPLC analytical techniques. Validation and proficiency data for the QuEChERS method are available for a wide variety of pesticides in several common food matrices on their website.