A Fast Method for Determination of Ethylene Oxide Using Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry GC-MS/MS

Abstract

The ongoing influx of information regarding the presence of ethylene oxide in food requires the implementation of a simple and quick analytical procedure. This paper propounds one such effective procedure for the analysis of ethylene oxide (EtO) bactericides by GC-MS/MS in food. The presented method is based on the derivatization of ethylene oxide to 2-chloroethanol, with both the number of extraction steps and the volume of extraction solvent having been minimized. The purification of the final extract through a syringe filter has proved to significantly reduce the amount of recovery obtained. Since the definition of residue pesticide ethylene oxide, according to the directive 868/2015, states that ethylene oxide is the sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol expressed as ethylene oxide, the validated method allows for the determination of this definition. The presented method has turned out to be faster than other methods and it complies with the latest European guidelines for the analysis of pesticide residues outlined in the SANTE/11312/2021 document. Linearity, limits of detection and quantification, matrix effects, accuracy, and precision of the method have been assessed with respect to the above-mentioned document. Expanded uncertainty RSDr was less than or equal to 20%, while the recovery achieved oscillated within the range of 70–120%. The laboratory has been accredited for using the described procedure of the chromatographic method, the competence of which has been confirmed by numerous proficiency tests.

Keywords

• ethylene oxide
• GC-MS/MS
• derivatization