Simplification of analytical methods in pesticide residue analysis by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry

This report presents a historic, scientific, and economic overview of why mass spectrometry (MS) is rapidly becoming a routine detector for trace analysis of pesticide residues in the regulatory area. Liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization MS and tandem MS dramatically simplify cleanup procedures, reducing not only sample analysis time, but even more important, method development time. Examples include direct determination of imidazolinones in water at 1 ppb, determination of imazethapyr and its metabolites in crop commodities, and determination of imazethapyr in soil.