An Improved, Rapid, and Sensitive Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry Analysis for the Determination of Highly Polar Pesticides and Contaminants in Processed Fruits and Vegetables.

Abstract

A rapid, specific, and sensitive method based on quick polar pesticide extraction and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry with an Orbitrap analyzer was evaluated. Usually, pesticides were analyzed individually using derivatization or ion-pairing techniques and detection by ion chromatography. We identified and simultaneously quantified 6 highly polar compounds (glyphosate, aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), phosphonic acid, fosetyl-Al, chlorate, and perchlorate) in 83 processed fruits and vegetables as well as 15 infant foods. Isotopically labeled internal standards 18O4-perchlorate, 18O3-chlorate, and 13C215N-glyphosate were applied to quantify five polar compounds and to compensate for any factor affecting the recovery rates. Only AMPA was quantified using a standard addition approach to compensate for matrix effects. This analytical methodology is fast and reliable, and it is also able to satisfy the strict requirements of infant food analysis.