WIDE-BORE CAPILLARY GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF ORGANOPHOSPHORUS PESTICIDE-RESIDUES IN FOODS - INTERLABORATORY TRIAL

Wide-Bore capillary columns are often used as alternatives to traditionally packed columns for gas chromatographic (GC) determination of pesticide residues in foods. Fused silica columns with crosslinked, bonded stationary phases are reproducible, rugged, and easy to use and are substantially more inert than their packed column equivalents. An interlaboratory trial was conducted in 5 U.S. Food and Drug Administration laboratories to determine the practicability of using isothermal wide-bore capillary GC as an alternative to the packed column GC systems used in AOAC Official Methods for determining pesticide residues in foods. Two wide-bore capillary columns with frame photometric detection were evaluated with respect to the following: linearity of detector response; repeatability of response for equal and unequal injection volumes of standard solutions; accuracy of quantitating pesticides in food extracts when the injection volumes or analyte concentrations of the standard solution and the food extract are different; recoveries of 23 pesticides from 5 fortified food extracts, calculated from both duplicate and single injections; and relative retention times. Before shipment, food extracts supplied to participants were fortified with pesticides after preparation and extraction of the foods by Official Method 985.22. The performance of wide-bore capillary columns with cross-linked bonded methyl silicone and methyl phenyl silicone stationary phases was equal or superior to that of the packed columns specified in the Official Method.