Revised paper: Neonicotinoids as a potential threat to honey: Development of liquid chromatography methods for their determination

Abstract

There is an increasing interest on neonicotinoid residues determination in honey samples because they are banned by European Union. Their determination is based on liquid chromatography analytical methods and, therefore, the aim of this study was to develop the analytical method for quantifying these compounds using different sample preparation techniques. The sample preparation was conducted by two different techniques and the new HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated assuring reliable accuracy (R, 70-120 %), repeatability (RSD, < 20 %) and within-laboratory reproducibility (RSD, <20 %). Also, low limits of detection and quantification (LOD, 2.5-5.0 μg kg-1; LOQ, 7.5-10.0 μg kg-1) for the mentioned method were achieved. To address the importance of honey safety control more than 100 samples from Vojvodina region were analyzed showing residues of neonicotinoids. The HPLC-MS/MS method was used to confirm the presence of neonicotinoids quantified using validated HPLC-DAD method.

Keywords

• neonicotinoids
• liquid chromatography
• dllme
• quechers
• honey