HPLC WITH AMPEROMETRIC DETECTION FOR THE DETERMINATION OF PESTICIDES OF HIGH POLARITY - QUANTIFICATION OF AMITROLE

A relatively simple procedure is described for the selective and highly sensitive determination of amitrole (3-amino-1,2,4-triazole) by ionpair HPLC with amperometric detection. The separation was achieved on a polar CN-column using hexane, propanol, water (62:36:2) with LiCIO4 (2.5 g . l-1) and trichloroacetic acid (2 g . l-1) as electrolytes. The determination range lies between 500 pg and 500 ng and the limit of detection was found to be 200 pg (s.d.: 11%; N = 9). The minimum detectability for the alternative UV-monitoring was 2.5 ng. The developed method may be helpful in production and quality control and for the selective determination of amitrole in commercial formulations.