Microwave Assisted Extraction of Pesticides from Environmental Samples

Pesticides are extensively used in modern agriculture and many governments require their analysis in environmental samples. In addition some pesticides belong to the class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The manufacture, sale and use of products containing POPs in the UK is banned however some might be present through unintentional trace contamination.

The analysis of pesticides is described in EPA 3546 that outlines the procedure for extracting water insoluble or slightly water-soluble organic compounds from soils, clays, sediments, sludges, and solid wastes. EPA 3546 is also a specific method for Microwave Assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE), a well­ established sample preparation technique that enables extractions with reduced solvent volume and time.

A new Milestone application report from Analytix presents a guideline for the extraction of the priority pesticides from both standard reference materials and spiked materials using the official method EPA 3546. The Milestone ETHOS X microwave extraction system equipped with FastEX-24 rotor was used in this study to prove its efficacy in the extraction of pesticides from environmental matrices

The application report describes the extraction of target compounds in 40 minutes from 24 soil samples simultaneously with 30 g of sample per vessel. Full recovery data is included and demonstrates that the potential problems of contamination, memory effects, and cleaning are eliminated due to the use of disposable glass vials.

The FastEX-24 rotor uses disposable glass vials with contactless temperature control in all positions. This makes the system a unique and innovative solution for the extraction of contaminants from soils, providing unmatched ease of use and low running costs.

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