Rapid SPME/LC/MS/MS analysis of N-methylcarbamate pesticides in water

Solid-phase microextraction combined with fast short-column liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (SPME/LC/MS/MS) was used for isolating and analyzing nine N-methylcarbamate pesticides from water samples. Several SPME parameters, such as polarity of fibers, extraction time, and effect of ionic strength, were investigated and their impact on the SPME/LC/MS/MS technique was studied. The method was shown to be sensitive with detection limits between 0.3 and 1.9 mu g/L and reproducible with precision between 4.5 and 12.7% RSD. The versatility of the method was exhibited by its excellent linearity in the concentration range of 2-2,000 mu g/L in drinking water. A comparison of the SPME/LC/MS/MS method with LC/MS/MS methods utilizing traditional sample preparation techniques shows that the former offers similar performance in terms of precision and linearity, but is clearly easier to use and faster to perform.