On-line solid-phase extraction for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of pesticides

Abstract

Public concern about pesticides in food and water has increased dramatically in the last two decades. In order to guarantee consumers' health and safety, analytical methods that could provide fast and reliable answers without compromising accuracy and precision are required. Sample treatment is probably the most tedious and time-consuming step in many analytical procedures and, despite the significant advances in chromatographic separations and mass spectrometry techniques, sample treatment is still one of the most important parts of the analytical process for achieving good analytical results. Therefore, over the last years, considerable efforts have been made to simplify the stage and to develop fast, accurate and robust methods which allow the determination of a wide range of pesticides without compromising the integrity of the extraction process. This review article intends to give a short overview of recently developed on-line solid-phase extraction, pre-concentration and clean-up procedures for the determination of pesticides in complex matrices by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques.