Comparative study of different clean-up techniques for the determination of λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in palm oil matrices by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

Solid phase extraction (SPE) and dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) were compared and evaluated for the determination of λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in palm oil matrices by gas chromatography with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Several SPE sorbents such as graphitised carbon black (GCB), primary secondary amine (PSA), C18, silica, and florisil were tested in order to minimise fat residues. The results show that mixed sorbents using GCB and PSA obtained cleaner extracts than a single GCB and PSA sorbents. The average recoveries obtained for each pesticide ranged between 81% and 114% at five fortification levels with the relative standard deviation of less than 7% in all cases. The limits of detection for these pesticides were ranged between 0.025 and 0.05 μg/g. The proposed method was applied successfully for the residue determination of both λ-cyhalothrin and cypermethrin in crude palm oil samples obtained from local mills throughout Malaysia.