A method for the determination of multiclass pesticides in sugarcane juice employing QuEChERS and LC-ESI-MS/MS

This paper aims at describing a method for the determination of different classes of pesticides in sugarcane juice. The QuEChERS sample preparation method was used for the extraction of pesticides and their quantification was carried out by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with an electrospray ionization source. After the optimization of the determination parameters of the pesticides, the method was validated by evaluating the analytical curves, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision (repeatability and intermediate precision), accuracy (recovery) and matrix effect. The detection limits of the method ranged from 0.83 to 16 mu g L-1 and recoveries between 75% and 120% with an RSD lower than 20%. No pesticide residues were detected amongst the samples under analysis.