Gas chromatographic determination of organochlorine pesticides in cow milk

A gas chromatographic method of use in determining the following organochlorine pesticides in cow milk has been adapted and validated: alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH), beta-HCH, lindane, delta-HCH, hexachlorobenzene, aldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, mirex, 2,4-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (2,4-DDT), 4,4-DDT, 2,4-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (2,4-DDD), 4,4-DDD, 2,4- dichlorodiphenylethane (2,4-DDE) and 4,4-DDE. The method studied consists of three steps: the extraction of fat by centrifugation, mixing with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and transfer to a glass column and elution with hexane; purification of the extract via concentrated sulfuric acid treatment; and determination of the organochlorine pesticides by gas chromatography equipped with an electron capture detector. The analytical parameters determined to estimate the quality of the method yielded the following results: correlation coefficients (r) of the calibration curves were greater than 0.996, the variation coefficients of the response factors were less than 4.90%- with the exception of aldrin (5.53%) and lindane (5.75%)- the relative standard deviation of the slope ( S-m rel) being less than or equal to 1.52%. Zero was included in the confidence limits of the independent term range. The method repeatability and reproducibility values were < 4.73% and less than or equal to 5.79%, respectively. The recovery values of the pesticides analyzed were in the range of 81.92% (alpha-HCH) to 105.49% ( 4,4-DDT), except in the case of aldrin and heptachlor epoxide, which yielded recovery values of under 40%. The quantification limits of the method were less than or equal to 1 ng/g, with the exception of mirex ( 5 ng/g).