Gas-Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Residues of Chlorpyriphos and Leptophos, Including their Major Metabolites, in Vegetable Tissue
Abstract A method is described for the determination of residual chlorpyriphos (O, O-diethyl 0-3,5,6- trichloro- 2 - pyridyl phosphorothioate) and leptophos (O-(4-bromo-2,5-dichlorophenyl) O-methyl phosphonothioate), and their respective oxygen analogs and hydrolytic metabolites, in field-treated vegetables. Samples are extracted by blending with acetonitrile followed by liquid-liquid partitioning between benzene and aqueous sodium carbonate to separate the parent compounds and oxygen analogs from the hydrolytic metabolites. Both fractions are individually cleaned up on silica gel which also serves to fractionate the parent compounds from their oxygen analogs as the result of oncolumn hydrolysis of the oxygen analogs. Chlorpyriphos and leptophos are determined by flame photometric gas-liquid chromatography (GLC); the residual and derived hydrolysis products are derivatized with trimethylsilyl acetamide and determined by electron capture GLC. Overall recoveries from fortified samples averaged 95% for the parent compounds and 85% for the oxygen analogs and hydrolytic metabolites. Detection limits approximated 0.005 ppm for chlorpyriphos and leptophos, 0.002 ppm for the oxygen analogs, and 0.001 ppm for the hydrolytic metabolites.