Determination of organophosphorus pesticides in ginseng by carbon nanotube envelope-based solvent extraction combined with ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

A miniature extraction envelope containing multiwall carbon nanotubes, diatomite, neutral alumina, and anhydrous magnesium sulfate was developed for the solvent extraction of organophosphorus pesticides in dried ginseng. After the powder of dried ginseng sample was introduced into the envelope, the envelope was heat sealed and sonicated in acetonitrile for the extraction and clean-up of analytes. The resulting extracts were analyzed by an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatograph with an electrospray ion source and a quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometer (UHPLC-ESI/Q-Orbitrap MS) under target-MS2 mode, and the analytes were quantified by matrix-match calibration. Finally, the simultaneous identification and quantification of 19 pesticide residues were carried out by the present method. It is noteworthy that in this method the processes of extraction and clean-up for the analytes could be carried out and accomplished in one step. The recoveries and relative standard deviations (RSDs) of analytes were in the range of 82.6-110.8% and 1.0-10.6%, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) for analytes were determined to be 0.08-0.29 μg kg−1 and 0.26-0.98 μg kg−1, respectively. Several pesticide residues investigated in this study were found in 4 real samples, with the concentrations lower than the maximum residue limit (0.050 mg kg−1) established by European Union.