Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of amicarthiazol residues in soil and water samples

• This was the first report on analysis of amicarthiazol residues by UPLC-MS/MS.
• The method has been successfully developed and validated with the good sensitivity and selectivity, and met the current requirements for the analysis of pesticide residue.
• The method be a helpful tool for the controlling and monitoring of the risks posed by amicarthiazol to human health and environment safety.

A reliable and rapid method has been optimized to determine the residue of amicarthiazol in soil and environmental water samples. After extraction and evaporation, the extraction was carried out with solid phase extraction (SPE) cleanup using HLB cartridge (only soil samples) and for the quantitative determination by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The resulting residues of amicarthiazol were analyzed by a gradient separation performed on a UPLC system with a C18 column, methanol and water containing 0.1% (v v−1) formic acid as the mobile phase in the mode of electrospray positive ionization (ESI+) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Results showed that the recoveries for spiked samples were 74.4–97.1% and 72.1–109.9% for soil and water, respectively, with the relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 10.2% when fortified at 10, 100 and 1000 μg L−1. The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) for matrix matched standards ranged from 0.073–0.425 μg L−1 and 0.243–1.42 μg L−1. The intra-day precision (n = 5) and the inter-day precision over 10 days (n = 10) for the amicarthiazol in soils and water samples spiked at 100 μg L−1 was 7.9% and 15.9%, respectively. Results indicated that the developed method could be a helpful tool for the controlling and monitoring of the risks posed by amicarthiazol to human health and environment safety.