Selective and Sensitive Quantification of Acetochlor and S
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agriculture Article Selective and Sensitive Quantification of Acetochlor and S-Metolachlor in Maize and Soybean Plant Samples by Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Irina Gabriela Cara 1,*,†, Denis Topa 2,*,†, Lucian Raus 2,*, Anca Elena Calistru 2, Feodor Filipov 2 and Gerard Jitareanu 2 1 Research Institute for Agriculture and Environment, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 700490 Iasi, Romania 2 Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 700490 Iasi, Romania; [email protected] (A.E.C.); ffi[email protected] (F.F.); [email protected] (G.J.) * Correspondence: [email protected] (I.G.C.); [email protected] (D.T.); [email protected] (L.R.) † These authors contributed equally to this paper. Abstract: Herbicide residue analysis has gained importance worldwide, mainly for food quality control to minimize potentially adverse impacts on human health. A Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for quantitative analysis of acetochlor and s-metolachlor in maize and soybean straw has been developed, validated and applied to analyze the residues of anilide herbicides. Straw material was dried, homogenized and extracted with a mixture of n- Citation: Cara, I.G.; Topa, D.; Raus, hexane and acetone by an accelerated solvent extraction method. Chromatographic separation L.; Calistru, A.E.; Filipov, F.; Jitareanu, of the target analytes was performed on an Agilent 7832 GC equipped with a mass spectrometer G. Selective and Sensitive detector, a split-splitless injector and an HP-5 MS (5% phenylmethyl siloxane) capillary column Quantification of Acetochlor and × × µ S-Metolachlor in Maize and Soybean (30 m 0.25 mm 0.25 m). Under these parameters, the limit of detection (LOD) values were −1 −1 Plant Samples by Gas 0.2 ng g for acetochlor and 0.07 ng g for s-metolachlor, with average recoveries between 86% Chromatography-Tandem Mass and 119.7%. The method was validated for acetochlor and s-metolachlor in maize and soybean −1 Spectrometry. Agriculture 2021, 11, straw at 0.5 and 0.01 mg kg . Furthermore, the final residues of the two herbicides in maize and 283. https://doi.org/10.3390/ soybean straw were below the maximum residue limit (MRL) at harvest time. The proposed method agriculture11040283 is suitable for routine analysis. Academic Editors: Gianluca Caruso, Keywords: acetochlor; s-metolachlor; residues; plant samples; GC-MS László Baranyai and Vasile Stoleru Received: 10 March 2021 Accepted: 22 March 2021 1. Introduction Published: 25 March 2021 Maize (Zea Mays L.) and soybean (Glycine hispida L.) crops are valuable resources that Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral meet the requirements for human consumption and animal feed as well as for energy with regard to jurisdictional claims in production [1]. To obtain the expected yield, the losses related to pests, insects and published maps and institutional affil- disease are managed using chemicals pesticides, which inevitably leads to residues in iations. the environment [2]. Acetochlor and s-metolachlor are highly efficient and long-lasting pre-emergent herbicides applied to maize or soybean crops to control a wide range of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds [3,4]. Both are systemic herbicides absorbed mainly by shoots and roots of germinating weeds and then translocated to the foliage. The mode of action of these herbicides is via inhibition of cell division and elongation in plants Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. due to the interference with a number of enzymes [4]. Because of their strong herbicidal This article is an open access article activities, there are already 654 types of commercially available acetochlor products and distributed under the terms and approximately 4.2% of the global s-metolachlor herbicide usage is in Europe [5,6]. The conditions of the Creative Commons long-term and extensive applications of these herbicide (controlled by temperature, soil Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// properties and application history) has resulted in nonpoint source pollution, linked creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ with half-lives ranging between 3 and 9 weeks for acetochlor [7] and 5 and 19 weeks −1 4.0/). for s-metolachlor [8]. Due to its high water solubility (233 mg L for acetochlor and Agriculture 2021, 11, 283. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040283 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture Agriculture 2021, 11, 283 2 of 10 530 mg L −1 for s-metolachlor) and moderate to long persistence in soil and water bodies, these active compounds are ones of the most frequently found herbicides in European freshwaters [9–12]. Furthermore, acetochlor and s-metolachlor are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and potential human carcinogens, which can induce endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, and immune-toxicity in nontarget organisms [13]. Towards food safety, the European Union (EU) has established maximum residue limits (MRLs) for acetochlor and s-metolachlor in different products, varying from 0.02 to 0.05 mg kg−1 [12,14]. Considering the complexity of plant matrices, a sensitive, rapid and reliable sample preparation method is required, which should accelerate extraction, enhance enrichment of the target compound and minimize interference as much as possible. Analytical methods for acetochlor and s-metolachlor quantification require their analysis by efficient analytical instruments such us tandem mass spectrometry (MS) associated with gas chromatography (GC) [15] or liquid chromatography (LC) [16,17]. Owing to low concentrations of analytes in samples, and the complexity of matrices of real samples, an efficient sample preparation and enrichment process is necessary [15,18]. Common sample processing methods for detecting herbicide residues in different products currently include ultrasound-assisted extraction [19], accelerated solvent extrac- tion [17], ultrasonic solvent extraction or pressurized liquid extraction [18], as well as microwave-assisted [20] and hollow fiber-liquid phase microextraction [21]. However, all these methods usually have required sample manipulation to minimize sample contamina- tion and achieve the desired sensitivity and selectivity. Accelerated solvent extraction is a reliable extraction technique where different condi- tions are used to increase the extraction performance. Various parameters and extraction conditions (high temperature and/or pressure) increase the solvent solubilizing capacity and penetration power to enter into sample matrix and increase the contact time for solvent and sample [17]. In addition, the cycle time of Accelerated Solvent extraction (ASE) ensures the possibility of equilibrium time for intra- and extracellular solutions. The end result is a smaller solvent quantity with more contact time and more effective solubilization in a short period of time under high pressure. As it has different advantages, ASE offers the versatility of extracting a wide range of compounds from different chemical families [22]. Integrated ASE/GC-MS has been successfully used for the analysis of various pesticide residues in food, soil, sediments and water [23]. ASE/GC-MS, characterized by its low solvent consumption, shorter extraction time and high analyte recovery, has been recommended as the standard USEPA Method SW-8463545A [21]. The continued increased global inquiry has raised concerns about agricultural prod- ucts safety because pesticide residues in maize, soybean and other cereals could present a significant risk to human health [1,14]. Maximum Residues Limits (MRLs) are typically enforced at European Union or international levels to avoid health hazards and excessive exposure [11]. In the conditions where MRLs are exceeded, the consumers can be at risk. Currently, health risk assessment of human pesticide exposure through dietary intake is widely used as a valuable tool for food quality and safety monitoring [11,16]. With this background, the aim of this work is to develop and validate an analytical method for quantitative analysis of acetochlor and s-metolachlor in soybean and maize plants. The method presents a short analytical run time and produces accurate and repeat- able results as confirmed through validation. Moreover, the developed method was applied to real samples collected from Experimental Farm of Agriculture University, Romania, in order to monitor the environmental state in these regions. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Chemicals and Materials Acetochlor (95% purity) and s-metolachlor (97% purity) reference standard was pro- vided by Dr. Ehrenstorfer Chemical Industries (Augsburg, Germany). Their molecu- lar structures are shown in Figure1. Chromatography grade acetone, n-hexane and dichloromethane were purchased from Merck, Germany. Stock solution of the individ- Agriculture 2021, 11, × FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 11 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Chemicals and Materials Acetochlor (95% purity) and s-metolachlor (97% purity) reference standard was pro- Agriculture 2021, 11, 283 3 of 10 vided by Dr. Ehrenstorfer Chemical Industries (Augsburg, Germany). Their molecular structures are shown in Figure 1. Chromatography grade acetone, n-hexane and dichloro- methane were purchased from Merck, Germany. Stock solution of the individual stand- ards (1000 ualmg L standards−1) were dissolved (1000 mg in L acetone−1) were and dissolved stored at in 4 acetone°C. Working and standard stored at solu- 4 ◦C. Working tions were standardprepared