Development and validation of analytical methodologies for determination of pesticides in the cultivation of cucumbers, using ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)

• Grant number: 12/01667-6
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal researcher: Isabel Cristina Sales Fontes Jardim
• Grantee: Luana Cristina Macedo
• Home Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 06/57897-9 - Preparation, characterization and application of new stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography and electrochromatography, AP.TEM

Abstract

Pesticides are a numerous and diverse group of chemical compounds, that are used to eliminate pests in agriculture. The application of pesticides has helped to increase both productivity and the quality of foods. However, the presence of pesticide residues in foods has always been a matter of serious concern, because the increased use of pesticides has often resulted in contamination of both the environment and the foods themselves. In addition, pesticides have been associated with adverse effects health, including headaches, nausea, endocrine disorders and cancer. To maintain and increase the current levels of production, pesticides are essential to agricultural but, due to potential risk to the population, some types of pesticides have been prohibited from use in specific countries, including developing countries, like Brazil. The problems with residues are gaining increasing importance, due to the lack of government inspection and to poor agricultural practice. Government agencies have been encouraging the monitoring of pesticide residues, providing safe food supplies. The Nacional Agency for Health Securities (ANVISA) is a regulatory agency which sets food safety standards, and this agency establishes the maximum residue limits (LMR), based on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). The aim of the present study is the development and validation of new analytical methodologies for the quantitative determination and confirmation of pesticides in the cultivation of cucumbers, using ultra performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (UPLC- DAD) or coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). (AU)