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A Modified QuEChERS Sample Preparation Method for the Analysis of 70 Pesticide Residues in Tea Using Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

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Abstract

A modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method for the simultaneous determination of 70 pesticides in tea was developed using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Prior to acetonitrile extraction of the target compounds from tea matrix, samples were soaked in distilled water to improve the extraction efficiency. A mixture of adsorbents containing primary–secondary amine, octadecylsilane, graphite carbon black, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes was applied for the cleanup. Additional steps of concentration and solvent exchange were performed to reduce the amount of co-extracts and to decrease the limit of detection of the method. For all pesticides, good linear calibrations with coefficients (R 2) ≥0.99 were obtained at the concentration levels of 10, or 50 to 1,000 μg ml−1. The limits of quantifications (LOQs) were 5–25 μg ml−1, respectively. The recovery rates of samples spiked with 20, 100, and 200 μg kg−1 of analytes ranged from 71 % to 105 %. In addition, the relative standard deviations were lower than 20 %. A total of 331 tea samples were analyzed using this method, and the levels of five pesticide residues in nine tea samples exceeded the strictest maximum residual limits (MRLs).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-Industry Technology Research System (NYCYTX-26) and the Zhejiang Province Natural Science Foundation (LY12B07004).

Conflict of Interest

Hongping Chen has no conflict of interest. Peng Yin has no conflict of interest. Qinghua Wang has no conflict of interest. Ying Jiang has no conflict of interest. Xin Liu has no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310008, China

    Hongping Chen, Peng Yin, Qinghua Wang, Ying Jiang & Xin Liu

  2. Tea Quality and Supervision Testing Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Hangzhou, 310008, China

    Hongping Chen, Qinghua Wang, Ying Jiang & Xin Liu

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  1. Hongping Chen
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  2. Peng Yin
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  3. Qinghua Wang
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  5. Xin Liu
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Correspondence to Xin Liu.

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Chen, H., Yin, P., Wang, Q. et al. A Modified QuEChERS Sample Preparation Method for the Analysis of 70 Pesticide Residues in Tea Using Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Food Anal. Methods 7, 1577–1587 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-014-9791-0

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