A Sweep Co-distillation Cleanup Method for Organophosphate Pesticides.

Abstract

Abstract A simple sweep co-distillation method which uses the Storherr tube was developed for cleanup of 2 g or less of crude crop extracts which contain organophosphate pesticide residues. Five crops (kale, carrots, apples, strawberries, and potatoes) were fortified at levels of 1.0, 0.5, and 0.1 ppm with a mixture containing Trithion, diazinon, malathion, methyl parathion, and parathion. The sweep co-distillation method was compared with the adsorption column method by use of this mixture. The range of average per cent recoveries were 89–101% and 83–96%, respectively. The cleanup required approximately 20 minutes per sample and was as good as, and in many cases better than, adsorption column chromatography. Detection of the organophosphate pesticides was performed by GLC with the thermionic detector.