Multiresidue Analysis of Pesticides in Vegetables and Citrus Fruits by LC–MS–MS

Abstract

In this work, an analytical multiresidue method using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) with triple quadrupole in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode for the simultaneous determination of 54 pesticides in vegetables (pepper and tomato) and citrus fruits (orange and lemon) has been developed. The procedure involves initial single phase extraction of sample with acetonitrile by agitation, followed by liquid–liquid partition aided by “salting out” process using NaCl. The average recovery by the LC–MS–MS method obtained for these compounds varied from 65.5 to 114.5% with a relative standard deviation between 2.3 and 8.3%. The method presents good linearity over the range assayed 10–500 μg L−1 (except famoxadone 50–1,000 μg L−1) and the detection limits for the pesticides studied varied from 0.03 to 14.9 μg kg−1. The proposed method was used to determine pesticide levels in vegetables and citrus fruit samples from different experimental orchards and greenhouses from the Region of Murcia.