Application of ion-exchange cartridge clean-up in food analysis I. Simultaneous determination of thiabendazole and imazalil in citrus fruit and banana using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection

A simple, rapid and reproducible analytical method for thiabendazole (TBZ) and imazalil (IMA) in citrus fruit and banana has been developed. The method involves the use of an ion-exchange cartridge for sample clean-up followed by ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The recoveries of TBZ and IMA from citrus fruits spiked at levels of 10 mu g/g and 5 mu g/g were in the range of 94-98% and 93-98% with coefficients of variation of 0.5-2.2% and 1.6-2.7%, respectively. The recoveries of TBZ and IMA from banana spiked at levels of 3 mu g/g and 2 mu g/g were 94% and 94% with coefficients of variation 1.1% and 4.9%, respectively. The detection limits for TBZ and IMA were 0.1 mu g/g in citrus fruit and 0.05 mu g/g in banana. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.