Pesticide trace analysis using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography with electron-capture and tandem mass spectrometric detection in water samples

Gas chromatography (GC) with electron-capture detection (ECD), mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) were employed for the identification of 12 pesticides in water samples. For this purpose, a solid-phase extraction procedure with C18 cartridges was used, optimising the breakthrough volume and the saturation concentration. In GC–MS–MS, the lowest detectable concentrations for the pesticides were between 2 and 26 ng l−1, recoveries ranged from 70 to 133% in water samples spiked at 100 ng l−1 and the relative standard deviations were in the range 5.3 to 17.4%. The proposed analytical methodology was applied to analyse pesticides in wetland samples from Almerı́a (Spain).