Rapid Determination of Bentazone, Atrazine, 2, 4-D, Cavbofuran and Microcystins in Water by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objectives To establish an analytical method for the rapid determination of bentazone, atrazine, 2, 4-Dichlorophenyloxy acetic acid (2, 4-D), carbofuran and two microcystins in water by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS).

Methods Water samples were injected directly or injected after centrifugation. The determinants were separated by acquity BEH C₁₈ column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid water as mobile phase and gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, detected by UPLC/MS/MS and quantified by external standards.

Results The linear ranges for bentazone, 2, 4-D, atrazine, carbofuran, microcystins-RR and microcystins-LR were 1.0~50.0, 1.0~50.0, 0.5~25.0, 1.0~50.0, 0.2~10.0, 0.2~10.0 μg/L, respectively. The linear correlation coefficient in proper range was higher than 0.999. The minimum detectable concentration was 0.01~0.1 μg/L; the recovery was 98.0%~102.1%; and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.73%~3.06%. These pesticides were not detected in drinking water of some urban areas in Anhui province.

Conclusions This method is simple and accurate, and suitable for the determination of these compounds in water.