GC-NPD INVESTIGATION OF THE RECOVERY OF ORGANONITROGEN AND ORGANOPHOSPHORUS PESTICIDES FROM APPLE SAMPLES - THE EFFECT OF THE EXTRACTION SOLVENT

A gas chromatographic method employing a capillary column and a selective nitrogen/phosphorus detector (NPD) has been developed for the determination of organophosphorus (OP) and organonitrogen (NP) pesticides in horticultural samples (apples). The separation of sixteen pesticides and the internal standard was performed in thirteen minutes. The analytical characteristics of the method, including linear response ranges, detection limits, and reproducibility, have been studied using a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and xylene as extraction solvent. The possibility of mutual interference between pesticides has also been studied. A procedure for the quantitative extraction of the sixteen pesticides from apple samples has also been developed; for fifteen of the pesticides recoveries > 85 % were obtained after 90 minutes extraction. The effect of different solvents both on recovery and on the sensitivity of the subsequent chromatography were also investigated. It was found that the sensitivity required must be considered when the solvent for sample treatment is selected.