Routine Targeted Quantitation and Identification of Pesticide Residues using Triple Quadrupole LC-MS/MS and Advanced Scheduling of MRM Transitions

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture to protect crops and to improve efficiency of production. Pesticide residues may pose a potential threat to human health. Modern analytical techniques, such as LC-MS/MS, in combination with generic extraction methods, such as QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe), allow the screening for pesticide residues in a food samples.1-3 Here we present a new method using QuEChERS extraction with Phenomenex roQ™ kits, separation using a Kinetex™ Biphenyl 2.6u (50 x 2.1mm) column, and the new AB SCIEX Triple Quad™ 3500 system. The mass spectrometer was operated in highly selective and sensitive Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. The Scheduled MRM™ Pro algorithm was used to obtain the best data quality. Compound identification and quantitation was achieved by monitoring two MRM transitions for each pesticide. The MRM ratio was automatically evaluated in MultiQuant™ software.