Simultaneous determination of the quaternary ammonium pesticides paraquat, diquat, chlormequat, and mepiquat in barley and wheat using a modified quick polar pesticides method, diluted standard addition calibration and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, a modified Quick Polar Pesticides (QuPPe) method, optimized by a central composite design, was developed to determine quaternary ammonium pesticides (QUATs) residues in barley and wheat by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) using a hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) column. Considering the high polarity of these compounds, special conditions of sample preparation and analysis are required. Different mobile phases, extraction procedure and clean-up were evaluated. An isocratic elution with aqueous solution of ammonium formate 60 mmol L-1 (pH 3.7) and acetonitrile, 40:60 (v/v), was selected. Water and acidified methanol as extraction solvent, without heating, and a clean-up with dichloromethane, chitosan and acetonitrile presented good results. The validated method presented satisfactory selectivity, linearity, matrix effect, trueness and precision, providing recoveries from 93 to 110% with RSD < 13% for barley, and 70 to 115% with RSD < 18% for wheat. The complexity of these matrices requires the calibration in matrix and the diluted standard addition calibration (DSAC) procedure has been shown to be an excellent option to compensate for the matrix effect and the losses of the analytes in the extraction. Real samples of barley and wheat were analyzed and 60% presented concentrations of paraquat above the maximum limits allowed by the European Union. The modified QuPPe method combined with DSAC and HILIC-UHPLC-MS/MS demonstrated to be an effective approach to determine QUATs in barley and wheat, and is a good alternative for routine analysis. The use of the biosorbent chitosan is effective, low cost and more ecological when compared to others conventional sorbents.