Simultaneous Determination of 147 Pesticide Residues in Traditional Chinese Medicines by GC–MS/MS
Chao Ji, Li Xiao, Xingyu Wang, Marti Z. Hua, Yifeng Wu, Yifan Wang, Zhiqiang Wu, Xiahong He, Dunming Xu, Wenjie Zheng, Xiaonan Lu
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Determination of pesticide residues remains a challenge in traditional Chinese medicines in which complex compounds may interfere with analysis signals. This study reports the development of a simple, effective, and high-throughput method combining gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) with either QuEChERS or solid phase extraction (SPE) to determine 147 pesticide residues in traditional Chinese medicines simultaneously. In SPE, the mixture of n -hexane and ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) was selected to extract 147 pesticides in honeysuckle, and the extracted pesticides were determined by GC–MS/MS. The limits of detection for all pesticides were within 0.01–0.05 mg/kg. The recoveries were within 70–120% and the relative standard deviations were below 20% for over 90% pesticides. The coefficients of determination were up to 0.999 for the linearity between MS signals and different concentrations of pesticides (20–200 ng/mL). The analytical performance was confirmed in determining pesticide residues in dried tangerine peel. SPE achieved comparable recoveries for all pesticides compared to the QuEChERS method.