Determination of Pesticides in QuEChERS Extracts Using the MultiFlex GC/Q-TOF

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QuEChERS (Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe) is a multi-analyte method commonly used to extract pesticide residues from various agricultural commodities. Injecting acetonitrile QuEChERS extracts onto a HP-5 MS column can cause chromatographic peak splitting, particularly for early eluting compounds, such as dichlorvos and biphenyl. This affect can be minimised by using a GERSTEL cooled injection system (CIS). This application note uses an optimised CIS injection with the Agilent 7200 GC/Q-TOF to give improved chromatography and instrumental selectivity by utilising the accurate mass for targeted analysis of selected pesticides. Good linearity was observed for challenging analytes in a spiked sample matrix and all detection limits were calculated to be 2 ppb or below, demonstrating low detection limits and high selectivity for known analytes can be achieved using the GC/Q-TOF fitted with a cooled CIS inlet.

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