Liquid chromatographic assay of aminocarb and fenitrothion in pesticide formulations

Abstract A simple, rapid and robust liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of oil-based and emulsion spray-mixes containing aminocarb and fenitrothion insecticides is reported. The extracts of the spray-mixes, after necessary method optimization, were analysed using an HP RP-C8 column (200 × 4.6 mm ODS, 5 μm) with UV detection and methanol/water (85/15 v%) as the mobile phase. The linear concentration ranges for aminocarb and fenitrothion were 0.05 to 5.0 μg and 0.10 to 4.2 μg, respectively. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.04 and 0.08 μg (aminocarb) and 0.05 and 0.10 μg (fenitrothion), respectively, in 20–4 injection volume. Analysis of different oil-based and emulsion spray-mixes of the two insecticides gave reproducible values with low CV, and agreement between the expected and measured values was good. The method could be modified and adapted for the trace analysis of the analytes from forestry matrices.