Poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized on silica as a sorbent for solid-phase extraction of some pesticides

A laboratory-made sorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) was obtained by thermal immobilization of poly(methyloctylsiloxane) (PMOS) onto silica. Cartridges packed with the new sorbent were used for the simultaneous determination of imazethapyr, nicosulfuron, diuron, linuron and chlorimuron-ethyl in water. These pesticides were separated and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC–DAD). The recoveries achieved with the laboratory-made PMOS cartridges were compared with those of some commercially available silica-based and polymer-based cartridges having C18, C8 and NH2 pendant groups. Method validation using the laboratory-made sorbent was performed for the five pesticides at three fortifications levels (1×, 2× and 10× the limit of quantification of each pesticide). The laboratory-made PMOS cartridge has low cost preparation and showed good recoveries (72–111%) for all pesticides. Repeatability and intermediate precision were lower than 15%. Its performance was similar or even better, in some cases, than those of the commercial cartridges.