Determination of pesticides and their degradation products in soil: critical review and comparison of methods

• DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2004.07.008
• Publication Date: 2004-11-06T18:03:10Z
• Authors: Vicente Andreu; Yolanda Picó
• Keywords: Solid phase extraction; Sample Preparation; Solid-Phase Microextraction; Complex matrix; Environmental Analysis

Peer reviewed<br/>This study has been supported by the EU (ECOSLOPES QLRT-2000-00289) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (CICYT REN2001-1716).<br/>Pesticides are applied widely to protect plants from disease, weeds and insect damage, and usually come into contact with soil, where they undergo a variety of transformations that provide a complex pattern of metabolites. This article reviews the most relevant analytical methods for determining pesticides and their transformation products in soils. We address some recent advances in sampling and sample-preparation technologies for soil analysis. We discuss and critically evaluate procedures, such as liquid extraction methods (pressurized liquid extraction or microwave-assisted extraction) and solid-phase based methods (headspace solid-phase microextraction, solid-phase microextraction or matrix-solid-phase dispersion). Analysis of pesticides is generally carried out by gas chromatography (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to different detectors, especially to mass spectrometers (MSs). However, alternative and/or complementary methods, using capillary electrophoresis (CE), biosensors and bioassays have emerged recently. We also consider the advantages and the disadvantages of the various methodologies.<br/>18 páginas, 5 figuras, 5 tablas.<br/>