Sample treatment and determination of pesticide residues in fatty vegetable matrices: a review

Abstract

A demanding task in pesticide residue analysis is yet the development of multi-residue methods for the determination of pesticides in vegetables with relatively high fat content (i.e. edible oils and fatty vegetables). The separation of pesticides and other chemical contaminants from high-fat food samples prior to subsequent steps in the analytical process is yet a challenging issue to which much effort in method development has being applied. This review addresses the main sample treatment methodologies for pesticide residue analysis in fatty vegetable matrices. Even with the advent of advanced hyphenated techniques based on mass spectrometry these complex fatty matrices usually require extensive sample extraction and purification. Current methods involve the use of one or the combination of some of the following techniques for both the sample extraction and clean-up steps: liquid-liquid partitioning, solid-phase extraction (SPE), gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD), etc. An overview of methods developed for these contaminants in fatty vegetables matrices is presented. Sample extraction and purification techniques are discussed and their most recent applications are highlighted. This review emphasizes that sample preparation is a critical step, but also the determination method is, and cannot be treated separately from sample treatment. In recent years, the appearance and use of new, more polar pesticides has fostered the development of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) besides gas chromatography. The main features of LC-MS for the analysis of multi-class pesticides in fatty vegetable samples will be also underlined, with an emphasis on the multi-class, multi-residue strategy and the difficulties associated.