The high throughput analysis of N-methyl carbamate pesticides in fruits and vegetables by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry using a short column

We developed a new analysis method for the nine N-methyl carbamate pesticides in fruits and vegetables using ESI LC/MS/MS with direct sample injection into a short column. After extraction of the pesticides with ethyl acetate from sample, the extract is evaporated to dryness and redissolved in ultra pure water before injection into LC/MS/MS. The method needs no cleanup steps. The average recoveries from fruits and vegetables fortified at the level of 0.01 μg/g ranged from 56.0 to 119.1% with the coefficients of variation ranging from 0.2 to 7.6% for intra-day (n = 5 × 3 days) and from 0.8 to 18.4% for inter-day (n = 15). At the fortified level of 0.5 μg/g, the recoveries ranged from 67.7 to 119.3% with the coefficients of variation ranging from 0.5 to 7.8% for intra-day (n = 5 × 3 days) and from 0.9 to 14.8% for inter-day (n = 15). The method is considered to be satisfactory for the monitoring of the carbamate pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables, suggesting that the present method is applicable to other pesticide residues in foods.