COF-SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ Composite for Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction of Pyrethroid Pesticides in Vegetables

Abstract

Pyrethroid pesticides (PYRs) have found widespread application in agriculture for the protection of fruit and vegetable crops. Nonetheless, excessive usage or improper application may allow the residues to exceed the safe limits and pose a threat to consumer safety. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop efficient technologies for the elimination or trace detection of PYRs from vegetables. Here, a simple and efficient magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) strategy was developed for the simultaneous purification and enrichment of five PYRs in vegetables, employing the magnetic covalent organic framework nanomaterial COF-SiO2@Fe3O4 as an adsorbent. COF-SiO2@Fe3O4 was prepared by a straightforward solvothermal method, using Fe3O4 as a magnetic core and benzidine and 3,3,5,5-tetraaldehyde biphenyl as the two building units. COF-SiO2@Fe3O4 could effectively capture the targeted PYRs by virtue of its abundant π-electron system and hydroxyl groups. The impact of various experimental parameters on the extraction efficiency was investigated to optimize the MSPE conditions, including the adsorbent amount, extraction time, elution solvent type and elution time. Subsequently, method validation was conducted under the optimal conditions in conjunction with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Within the range of 5.00–100 μg·kg−1 (1.00–100 μg·kg−1 for bifenthrin and 2.5–100 μg·kg−1 for fenpropathrin), the five PYRs exhibited a strong linear relationship, with determination coefficients ranging from 0.9990 to 0.9997. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.3–1.5 μg·kg−1, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.9–4.5 μg·kg−1. The recoveries were 80.2–116.7% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 7.0%. Finally, COF-SiO2@Fe3O4, NH2-SiO2@Fe3O4 and Fe3O4 were compared as MSPE adsorbents for PYRs. The results indicated that COF-SiO2@Fe3O4 was an efficient and rapid selective adsorbent for PYRs. This method holds promise for the determination of PYRs in real samples.

Keywords

• covalent organic framework
• magnetic solid-phase extraction
• gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
• pyrethroid pesticides