Residue analysis of sixty pesticides in red swamp crayfish using QuEChERS with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Authors: SONG, SHUANGYU - China Agricultural University; ZHU, KECHEN - China Agricultural University; HAN, LIJUN - China Agriculture University; Sapozhnikova, Yelena; ZHANG, ZIHAO - China Agricultural University; YAO, WEI - China Agricultural University

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/24/2018
Publication Date: 1/24/2018
Citation: Song, S., Zhu, K., Han, L., Sapozhnikova, Y.V., Zhang, Z., Yao, W. 2018. Residue analysis of sixty pesticides in red swamp crayfish using QuEChERS with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 66:5031-5038. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05339.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05339

Interpretive Summary: Crayfish aquaculture is thriving in China and other Asian countries, however the use of pesticides in crayfish farming industry poses a potential risk to human health and the environment. A new fast and efficient method for analysis of 60 pesticides commonly used in crayfish aquaculture was developed and validated for crayfish meat, whole crayfish and mantis shrimp. The developed method was applied to the analysis of real world crayfish and mantis shrimp from Chinese markets, and two pesticides: propamocarb and difenoconazole were measured in two out of eleven tested samples, both at 8 ng/g. The developed method can be easily applicable to other aquaculture products, and can be implemented by other laboratories for monitoring of pesticides in seafood.

Technical Abstract: In this study, a multi-residue analytical method using QuEChERS extraction and dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) cleanup followed by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed for rapid determination of 60 pesticide residues in whole crayfish and crayfish meat. The final method used 10 mL acetonitrile for extraction, 3 g NaCl for partitioning, and 50 mg PSA for d-SPE cleanup. The method was validated at three spiking levels (10, 50 and 100 ng/g) using triphenyl phosphate (TPP) as an internal standard. Satisfactory recoveries (70-120%) and RSDs=20% were achieved for 83% and 88% of pesticides in whole crayfish and crayfish meat, respectively. Matrix effects were estimated using HPLC gradient and isocratic elution. The developed method was successfully applied for analysis of crayfish and mantis shrimp samples from markets in China, and propamocarb and difenoconazole were detected in 2 different mantis shrimp, both at 8 ng/g.