Solvent microextraction of chlorinated pesticides

This paper is a preliminary report on a fast method for the extraction of organochlorine pesticides from river water which is inexpensive, fast and has little to no waste that has been developed. Pesticide extraction was achieved using the relatively new technique of solvent microextraction. In this technique a 2 mu L drop of organic solvent is suspended on the tip of a microsyringe in a stirred aqueous sample solution. After the prescribed extraction time the drop is drawn back into the syringe. The syringe is then removed and the contents are injected into a gas chromatograph for analysis. Extraction of eleven organochlorinated pesticides from aqueous solutions with concentrations down to 1 ng mL(-1) was achieved. The developed procedure was tested as a screening method for pesticides with spiked river water samples and was found to be linear over the concentration range of interest.