Automated Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for Screening and Determination of Multiclass Pesticides in Water

Abstract

The method for the determination of multiclass pesticides in water samples by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) is described. Of the 174 pesticides, 158 are extracted with a polyacrylate-coated fiber at 30 to 100°C and are classified into four groups according to the shape of their extraction temperature profiles. Each group of pesticides is continuously analyzed by HS-SPME-GC-MS using the Combi PAL autosampler. This method is successfully applied to the analyses of drinking and environmental water samples. The automated HS-SPME-GC-MS system is an extremely powerful, flexible, and low-cost approach for multiclass pesticide analyses in various water samples. The recoveries and reproducibilities are good, and the results are in good agreement with those obtained by the solid-phase extraction method. Although it has not yet been theoretically useful, the physical property diagram may be a valuable tool in inductively predicting adaptability of untested compounds in the HS-SPME system.