Micellar electrokinetic chromatography method development for simultaneous determination of thiabendazole, carbendazim, and fuberidazole

Abstract

Thiabendazole (TBz), carbendazim (CBz), and fuberidazole (FBz) are systemic benzimidazole-type fungicides used for pre- and post-harvest treatment to control various types of fungal diseases on a variety of crops. Significant levels of these fungicides could alter the composition or flavour of crops, and being possible carcinogens, they could also pose risks for humans and the environment. A mode of capillary electrophoresis called micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) was investigated for the determination of these three benzimidazole fungicides. The study involved two kinds of surfactants in which several experimental conditions were optimized, i.e., buffer concentration, pH, micelle concentration, and percent organic modifier (methanol). Using the optimum experimental conditions, the fungicides were successfully separated by MEKC. The limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 0.6–0.7 and 2.1–2.5 mg L−1, respectively, and the calibration curves were linear over the range of 5–60 mg L−1 for the three fungicides. The potential of the proposed MEKC method was demonstrated by analyzing water samples which were fortified with the fungicides. The proposed method enabled simultaneous determination of the three benzimidazole fungicides and method validation with spiked water samples yielded satisfactory quantitative recoveries for all the three fungicides.