Fast Pesticide Analysis in Food

Phil Black - PII Editor 14/11/2014

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Bruker has demonstrated a faster method for pesticide analysis in food using the EVOQ Elite triple quadrupole chromatography mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Quality control (QC) laboratories around the world are facing increasing strain due to the growing variety and volume of pesticides being used. This means that QC labs are in need of analysis methods that reduce the analytical cycle time while delivering enhanced sensitivity, reliability and robustness. Using the EVOQ Elite, Bruker has shown how positive and negative ion switching is considerably faster than separate positive-negative quantification methods. The application note is available to download at http://bit.ly/250Pesticides.

The study explores how recent developments in LC-MS/MS technology are helping QC laboratories throughout the world meet increasing regulatory demands and productivity targets. The EVOQ Elite was used to quantify 250 pesticide compounds in apple, cranberry, orange, grape and vegetable juice. A single method performed automatic negative and positive ion switching for over 500 MRM transitions in just 18 minutes. The EVOQ Elite delivered excellent sensitivity and linearity for the 500 MRM transitions, while demonstrating superior robustness.

Joe Anacleto, VP Applied Markets, explained that “The Compound Based Scanning (CBS) software enables the simultaneous analysis of positively and negatively charged species and simplifies method development, thus shortening analysis times and making it ideal for any lab conducting high throughput quantitative analysis.” Anacleto went on to say, “The EVOQ Elite’s exceptional sensitivity is delivered by hardware developments such as the Active Exhaust and IQ dual ion funnel system, offering the complete pesticide testing solution.”