Optimization of a matrix solid-phase dispersion method for the determination analysis of carbendazim residue in plant material

The objective of this paper was to prove that matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and column switching could be used for the determination and quantification of carbendazim residue in plant samples. By comparing results obtained after optimization of the extraction conditions on an acidic silica gel column, it was determined that sorption and retention of carbendazim were achieved via specific interactions. The method of standard additions was used for quantitative analysis. Its performance was evaluated and validated: the detection limit (UV-Vis detection at λ=279 nm) was 0.02 μg/g, the relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) were between 2.7 and 4.1% and the recoveries were ranging from 84.3 to 90.7% at the 0.04, 0.08 and 0.1 μg/g fortification levels. The method was successfully tested on cereal samples, and the results obtained with the present off-line MSPD–HPLC procedure were found to compare well with those obtained with procedure involving LLE.