Analytical method validation for terbutryn using gas chromatography/ion trap, gas chromatography/mass selective detector, and liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometers

Analytical methods including solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography/ion-trap (GC/IT) with scan and MS/MS mode, a GC/mass selective detector (GC/MSD), and liquid chromatography/triple quadrupole mass spectrometers (LC/MS/MS) were optimized to identify and quantify terbutryn. The spike recovery was 96.5% using GC/IT with scan mode and 103.5% with MS/MS mode, 90.3% by GC/MSD, and 92.5% by LC/MS/MS. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.0015 mg/kg by GC/IT with scan, 0.026 mg/kg with MS/MS mode, 0.015 mg/kg with GC/MSD, and 0.026 mg/kg by LC/MS/MS. Of the four methods, GC/IT with scan mode was determined to be the most sensitive (with LOD: 0.0015 mg/kg and limit of quantitation (LOQ): 0.0047 mg/kg), rapid (retention time: 9.6 min) and the most precise method (relative standard deviation: 17%) for the quantification of terbutryn. GC/IT with scan mode proved to be the more sensitive analytical method for terbutryn than other methods in this study, showing better accuracy and rapid analysis.