A Simple and Fast Solid-Phase Extraction GC-ECD Method for the Routine Assessment of Atrazine Residues in Agricultural Produces

A simple and rapid solid-phase extraction (SPE) supported Gas Chromatographic-Electron Capture Detection (GC-ECD) method has been presented for the routine determination of atrazine in some common agricultural produces. Equivalent to USP G-42 GC stationary phase, DB-35 ms capillary column and ECD detector was selected on the basis of physical and structural characteristics of atrazine. Temperature programming of 20 minutes with 0.8 mL/min optimized gas flow gave maximum number of the theoretical plates (N=104) and high resolution (Rs~2.1 min) with LOD and LOQ values of 0.001 μg/L and 0.1 μg/L respectively. LOQ achieved by the present method is almost below the maximum residue levels recommended by the European legislation. Satisfactory spiked recoveries of the atrazine were obtained from agricultural produces ranging from 82.2 to 97.8% with relative standard deviations below 3.8%. The minimum consumption of solvent (5 mL ethyl acetate) in SPE for residual workup in 5 minutes, with subsequent 20 minutes GC analysis makes the proposed method simple and fast having promise as an excellent economical alternative for the routine analysis of atrazine in environmental samples.