Determination of pesticides in seaweeds by pressurized liquid extraction and programmed temperature vaporization-based large volume injection–gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid method for the simultaneous identification and quantification of pesticide residues in edible seaweed has been developed. Target analytes were three pyrethroid, a carbamate and two organophosphorus pesticides. The procedure consists of a pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with integrated clean-up, followed by gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Five PLE parameters were investigated using a screening design: temperature, static extraction time, number of cycles, percent of flush volume and quantitative composition of the n-hexane/ethyl acetate extraction solvent. The effect of the in-cell clean-up with Florisil® and graphitized carbon black adsorbents was investigated using a Doehlert response surface design. Large volumes of sample extracts were injected using a programmed-temperature vaporizer (PTV-LVI) to improve both sensitivity and selectivity of measurements. Quantification was carried by the internal standard method with surrogate deuterated standards. The method showed excellent linearity (R2 > 0.999) and precision (relative standard deviation, RSD ≤ 8%) for all compounds, with detection limits ranging from 0.3 pg g−1 for chlorpyrifos-ethyl, to 3.0 pg g−1 for carbaryl (23.1 pg g−1 for deltamethrin). Recoveries in real seaweed samples were within the range 82–108%. The method was satisfactory validated for the analysis of wild and cultivated edible seaweeds. The presence of pyrethroid and organophosphorus pesticides in some of the samples was evidenced.