Application of ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent extraction combined with liquid-liquid extraction method to the extraction of three pesticide residues from fruit and vegetable samples

Abstract

AbstractA simple, inexpensive and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous determination of three pesticide residues (carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl, and imidacloprid) in fruit and vegetable samples using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) based on a combined pretreatment of ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvent extraction (UA-DES-E) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). In this study, various types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were synthesized and the extraction efficiency was compared as extraction solvents. Results showed that glycerol-proline = 9:4 (GP-5) obtained the highest extraction efficiency among different types of DESs. Experiment conditions, including DES volume, extraction time and pH, were systematically optimized using single-factor experiment. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were in the ranges of 0.05–0.2 μg·mL−1 and 0.1–0.5 μg·mL−1, respectively. The relative recoveries of the three pesticides in the fruit and vegetable samples ranged from 85.7 to 113.0% at two spiked levels. Meanwhile, the method achieved excellent linearity with determination coefficients (r) greater than 0.999. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of the pesticides in real fruit and vegetable samples (apple, tomato, and grape).