On-site rapid detection of multiple pesticide residues in tea leaves by lateral flow immunoassay

The application of pesticides (mostly insecticides and fungicides) during the tea-planting process will undoubtedly increase the dietary risk associated with drinking tea. Thus, it is necessary to ascertain whether pesticide residues in tea products exceed the maximum residue limits. However, the complex matrices present in tea samples comprise a major challenge in the analytical detection of pesticide residues. In this study, nine types of lateral flow immunochromatographic strips (LFICSs) were developed to detect the pesticides of interest (fenpropathrin, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, carbendazim, chlorothalonil, pyraclostrobin, and iprodione). To reduce the interference of tea substrates on the assay sensitivity, the pretreatment conditions for tea samples, including the extraction solvent, extraction time, and purification agent, were optimized for the simultaneous detection of these pesticides. The entire testing procedure (including pretreatment and detection) could be completed within 30 min. The detected results of authentic tea samples were confirmed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), which suggest that the LFICS coupled with sample rapid pretreatment can be used for on-site rapid screening of the target pesticide in tea products prior to their market release.

Development of a Rapid Multi-residue Assay for Detecting β-lactams Using Penicillin Binding Protein 2x

Objective To develop a rapid multi-residue assay for detecting 16 demanded by the European Union （EU）. Methods A recombinant penicillin-binding protein （PBP） 2x＊ from Streptococcus pneumoniae R6 was expressed in vitro and six β-1actams were conjugated to HRP by four methods. A rapid multi-residue assay for β-1actams was established with PBP2x＊ and HRP-conjugate. Results PBP2x＊ was expressed and purified successfully and the ideal HRP-conjugate was identified. The multi-residue assay was developed. After optimization, penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, oxacillin, nafcillin, cephalexin, ceftiofur, cefalonium, cefquinome, cefazolin, cefoperazone, cephacetrile, and cephapirin can be detected at levels below MRL in milk with simple pretreatment. Conclusion This assay developed can detect all 16 β-1actams demanded by the European Union （EU）. The whole procedure takes only 45 min and can detect 42 samples and the standards with duplicate analysis.

Multi-Residue Determination of Eight Anabolic Steroids by GC-MS in Muscle Tissues from Pigs

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） method to determine eight anabolic steroids （diethylstilbestrol, methyltestosterone, norethindrone, 17α-ethynylestradiol, estradiol, 6α-methyl-17α-hydroxy-progesterone, estradiol benzoate, and chlormadinone acetate） was developed. Muscle samples were extracted with liquid-liquid extraction and clean-up was performed in two steps, the extracts obtained were derivatized with heptafluorbutyric （HBF） anhydride and analyzed by GC-MS. In the above method, the linear scope was 2.5-50 μg kg^-1. The range of the recoveries was 78.5-148% for diethylstilbestrol, 70.8-109% for methyltestosterone, 69.8-87.2% for norethindrone, 67.7-120% for 17α-ethynylestradiol, 82.8-103% for estradiol, 70.3-99.2% for 6α-methyl-17α-hydroxy-progesterone, 73.0-104% for estradiol benzoate, and 72.9- 91.8% for chlormadinone acetate. The range of the coefficients of variation within batches was 0.4-12%; the range of the coefficients of variation between batches was 6.4-11%. The limit of detections and the detection capability were 0.99 and 3.30 μg kg^-1 for diethylstilbestrol, 1.05 and 3.50 μg kg^-1 for methyltestosterone, 1.19 and 3.97 μg kg^-1 for norethindrone, 0.94 and 3.13 μg kg^-1 for 17α-ethynylestradiol, 1.45 and 4.83 μg kg^-1 for estradiol, 1.56 and 5.20 μg kg^-1 for 6α-methyl-17α- hydroxy-progesterone, 1.92 and 6.40 μg kg^-1 for estradiol benzoate, and 2.41 and 8.03 μg kg^-1 for chlormadinone acetate, respectively. These results showed that the method was widely available, accurate, and sensitive.

Evaluation of Pesticide Residues in Mango by a Multi-residue Analysis and GC/MS Triple Quadrupole

Mango fruit has a great national and international market, and Brazilian production is 1,900 thousand tons/year exporting to North America and Europe. However, the loss could occur during the production when it is affected by pests and climate conditions, so the increased use of chemical substances and their presence should be monitored. A task for governmental agencies, producers and food sales, attending the sanitary barriers requirements, is to distribute food free from contaminants, so laboratories involved in this type of work usually employ multi-residues analysis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of pesticide residues in mango using QuEChERS method and mass spectrometry technique. Positive samples were compared with Brazilian maximum residues level （MRL） and the health risk exposure was evaluated using the acute dietary intake （ADI） parameter. A total of 20 samples were collected from January to March, in Sao Paulo city markets. The recoveries were in the range of 70% to 120%, and standard deviation was below 20%. The category of pesticides not permitted for the crop were found in l0 samples; eight samples presented pesticides below MRL and two samples above MRL for the fungicide procloraz. The ADI values were below 20% of ADI for an adult and the worst case was dimethoate with 69% of ADI for children. The time spent in monitoring studies and the viability of method chosen must be considered by pesticide residues laboratories during routine analysis of food quality control.

Simultaneous Screening of 733 Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables by a GC/LC-Q-TOFMS Combination Technique

In this paper,we report the construction of two accurate mass databases and the development of a combination detection method that simultaneously screens for 733 pesticide and chemical contaminant multi-residues via high-throughput liquid chromatography(LC)-and gas chromatography(GC)-quadru pole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(Q-TOFMS).This work demonstrates that electronic mass spectral standards may replace chemical-source standard materials as references through one sample preparation and the combination of GC/LC-Q-TOFMS screening.This cutting-edge technique has also replaced multiresidue determination using targeted detection with non-targeted screening.The pesticide residue types,sensitivity,recovery,and reproducibility of this combination technique are evaluated in eight fruit and vegetable matrices.This technique shows three advantages:①In comparison with the discovery capability of a single technique,the combination technique shows an improvement of 51.1%(GC-QTOFMS)and 39.6%(LC-Q-TOFMS),respectively;②the combination technique can satisfy a screening limit lower than 10μg·kg^-1 and meet the requirements of“uniform standards,”although some of the pesticide residues could be optimized to further improve screening sensitivity;③over 488 pesticides with recoveries between 60%-120%and relative standard deviation(RSD)<20%at a spiked level of 10μg·kg^-1 were detected with the combination technique in eight different matrices.From 2012 to 2017,this combination technique was applied in an investigation to screen pesticide residues from 1384 sampling locations for 38138 batched samples covering 18 categories and 134 types of fruits and vegetables obtained from across the mainland of China.After statistical analysis,533 pesticides in 115891 determinations were detected,and the regularity of pesticides in the fruits and vegetables sold on the Chinese market was shown.

Multiresidue Method for Determination of 67 Pesticides in Water Samples Using Solid-Phase Extraction with Centrifugation and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

A new multi-residue method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with centrifugation was developed for determination and quantitation of 67 pesticides in water samples. Two SPE cartridges were tested: Chromabond C18 and Oasis HLB. Parameters that influence the extraction efficiency such as the eluent volume, the sample loading volume, the addition of organic solvent to water sample, sorbent drying and elute concentration were optimized. The innovation of this work was the examination of the use of a centrifugation technique in both the drying and elution steps. When combined with centrifugation, the volume of the elution solvent was reduced to 2 mL and the time for sorbent drying decreased also to 10 min under vacuum. Under the optimized conditions, this method showed good recoveries higher than 65% - 68% for the 67 analyzed pesticides using the C18 and HLB cartridges with relative standard deviations lower than 9.7% - 12.3%. Limits of quantification were between 2 and 20 ng.L–1. The simplicity of the described method, use of less of organic solvent, short procedure time, and good recoveries demonstrate the advantages of this environmentally friendly approach for routine analysis of numerous samples.