Optimization of Method for Pesticide Detection in Honey by Using Liquid and Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometric Detection
Mariana O. Almeida,
Silvia Catarina S. Oloris,
Vanessa Heloisa F. Faria,
Márcia Cassimira M. Ribeiro,
Daniel M. Cantini,
Benito Soto-Blanco
Affiliations
Mariana O. Almeida
Instituto Otávio Magalhães, Fundação Ezequiel Dias (Funed), Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro 80, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, MG, Brazil
Silvia Catarina S. Oloris
Instituto Otávio Magalhães, Fundação Ezequiel Dias (Funed), Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro 80, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, MG, Brazil
Vanessa Heloisa F. Faria
Instituto Otávio Magalhães, Fundação Ezequiel Dias (Funed), Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro 80, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, MG, Brazil
Márcia Cassimira M. Ribeiro
Instituto Otávio Magalhães, Fundação Ezequiel Dias (Funed), Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro 80, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, MG, Brazil
Daniel M. Cantini
Instituto Otávio Magalhães, Fundação Ezequiel Dias (Funed), Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro 80, Belo Horizonte 30510-010, MG, Brazil
Benito Soto-Blanco
Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte 30123-970, MG, Brazil
This study aimed to optimize and validate a multi-residue method for identifying and quantifying pesticides in honey by using both gas and liquid chromatographic separation followed by mass spectrometric detection. The proposed method was validated to detect 168 compounds, 127 of them by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric detection) and 41 by GC-MS/MS (gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometric detection). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values for the analytes determined by LC-MS/MS were 0.0001–0.0004 mg/kg and 0.0002–0.0008 mg/kg, respectively. For GC-MS/MS analyses, the LOD and LOQ values were 0.001–0.004 mg/kg and 0.002–0.008 mg/kg. In total, 33 samples of commercial honey produced by apiaries in six Brazilian states were analyzed with the validated method. Residual amounts of 15 analytes were detected in 31 samples (93.9%). The method described in the present study was able to detect an extensive and broad range of pesticides with very high sensitivity.
