SUPERCRITICAL-FLUID EXTRACTION AND ENZYME-IMMUNOASSAY FOR PESTICIDE DETECTION IN MEAT-PRODUCTS

Two techniques supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) were integrated into an analytical method for the rapid detection of pesticide residues in meat samples. The pesticides of interest were extracted from meats using supercritical CO2. A pumpless SFE system, which was designed in our laboratory, and commercial equipment were used in SFE experiments. The presence of pesticide residues in the extract was quantitatively determined using the magnetic bead-based EIA kits. Several types of pesticides (alachlor, carbofuran, atrazine, benomyl, and 2,4-D), spiked in the meat samples (bovine liver, ground beef, and lard), were extracted and analyzed. Interferences caused by the coextracted substances from these complex sample matrices required the use of a cleanup step prior to the EIA test. The described techniques are potentially portable and could be used for the rapid screening of meat samples in plant environments.