Analysis of pesticides in environmental water samples by solid-phase micro-extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography

Solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) has been applied to analyze pesticides in water samples. A device interfaces SPME to the LC injection process by solvent extracting analytes from the fiber and then introducing the solvent into the LC injector. LC analysis with UV detection was performed first with a conventional column (4.6 mm I.D.). To enhance efficiency of SPME, three extraction conditions, stirring, temperature and salt concentration, were optimized. Subsequently, semi-microcolumn LC (1.5 mm I.D.) was evaluated for this method, giving lower detection limits and less solvent consumption. Detection limits were within Japanese regulatory limits for drinking water. The SPME-LC method was applied to real-world environmental water samples.