Determination of the herbicide desmetryne in organised media by adsorptive stripping voltammetry

An electroanalytical method for the determination of the herbicide desmetryne at nanomolar levels in dispersed media, based on adsorptive stripping voltammetry, is reported. The adsorption of desmetryne at the hanging mercury drop electrode was checked both in micellar solutions, where the anionic surfactant sodium pentanesulphonate was chosen as the most suitable surfactant agent, and in oil-in-water emulsions prepared with ethyl acetate as the organic solvent. In a micellar medium formed with 0.02% sodium pentanesulphonate and with 0.1 mol l−1 Britton–Robinson buffer (pH 1.5), the herbicide could be determined over the 1.0×10−8–4.0×10−7 mol l−1 concentration range, when an accumulation potential of −0.70 V was applied for 50 s. On the other hand, in an oil-in-water emulsion formed with 2% ethyl acetate and 0.04% sodium pentanesulphonate as emulsifying agent in 0.1 mol l−1 HClO4, desmetryne could be determined over the 2.0×10−9–1.0×10−7 mol l−1 concentration range. The limits of detection were 2.4×10−9 and 4.2×10−10 mol l−1 in micellar and emulsified media, respectively, with R.S.D.s (n=10) 3.6 and 3.7%. The degree of interference from some other s-triazines on the desmetryne differential pulse response was also evaluated. Finally, the method developed in emulsified medium was applied to the determination of desmetryne in spiked apple juice.