Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues and their Metabolites

Detect and identify hundreds of known and unknown pesticides using the high identification power of mass spectrometers

Human exposure to pesticides through the food chain and water supplies is an issue of major concern due to the implicated health effects. Maximum Residue Limits  have been established so that the application of these compounds does not pose a risk for human health. Pesticides Residues Analysis in food and water resources has long been a challenging field for analytical chemists striving to provide accurate, precise and robust methods.

Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues and their Metabolites provides a critical overview of the use of mass spectrometry techniques for the analysis of pesticide residues and their metabolites in food and environmental matrices. Each chapter is focused on a specific and well–defined topic which by itself provides important information to the interested reader.

It also focuses on the identification capabilities and the quantitative potential of MS analyzers to achieve accurate and reproducible measurements of trace amounts of compounds in very complex matrices. It offers a review of the significant recent advances in the field of MS analysis of pesticides residues including MS instrumentation, sample preparation techniques, chromatographic separations and applications.

The book is organized in ten Chapters ranging from briefly covering the chemistry, the metabolism and the environmental fate of pesticides to strategies based on MS for the identification of unknown pesticide transformation products formed by advanced oxidation processes.

With contributions from leading authorities Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues and their Metabolites features:

Pesticides legislation and risk assessment Advanced sample preparation techniques Recent advances in GC–MS and LC–MS Ionization techniques in MS MS analyzers Matrix effects in LC–MS Application of MS–based multiresidue methods for the target and non–target screening of pesticides and their metabolites in food and environmental matrices Study of advanced oxidation processes by MS
Analytical and environmental chemists as well as scientists from other disciplines using, or intending to use, MS techniques for the analysis of complex food and environmental matrices in terms of pesticides and other types of contaminants will find this book a welcome addition to the field of Mass Spectrometry.

Despina Tsipi is the Director of Food Safety & Quality Laboratories (including the Pesticide Residues Laboratory) of the General Chemical State Laboratory, Athens, Greece. She works in the field of pesticide residues analysis in foodstuffs and the environment using hyphenated MS techniques for over 20 years. Between 2003–2006, she joined the Panel of Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR–Panel) of the European Food Safety Authority. She is a founding member and current president of the Hellenic Society for Mass Spectrometry.

Eleni Botitsi is the Head of the Pesticide Residues Laboratory, a National Reference Laboratory of EU for pesticide residues analysis in foods of plant and animal origin of the General Chemical State Laboratory, Athens, Greece. Her main field of expertise is method development for pesticide and pharmaceutical residues analysis in foodstuffs and environmental samples using GC–MS and LC–MS techniques as well as method validation and quality control.

Anastasios Economou is an Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece. His research interests are focused on the development of electrochemical, spectroscopic and chromatographic analytical methods as well as the development of automated analytical systems.

Despina Tsipi is the Director of Food Safety & Quality Laboratories (including the Pesticide Residues Laboratory) of the General Chemical State Laboratory, Athens, Greece. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Ph.D in Photochemistry from the University of Athens, after a doctoral fellowship in NRSC Demokritos. She works in the field of pesticide residues analysis in foodstuffs and environment using hyphenated MS techniques for over 20 years. Between 2003–2006, she joined the Panel of Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR–Panel) of the European Food Safety Authority. She is a founding member and current president of the Hellenic Mass Spectrometry Society.

Eleni Botitsi is the Head of the Pesticide Residues Laboratory, a National Reference Laboratory of EU for pesticide residues analysis in foods of plant and animal origin of the General Chemical State Laboratory, Athens, Greece. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry and a Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Athens. Her main field of expertise is method development for pesticide and pharmaceutical residues analysis in foodstuffs and environmental samples using GC–MS and LC–MS techniques as well as method validation and quality control.

Anastasios Economou is an Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece. He holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Athens, a M.Sc. and a Ph.D in Analytical Science and Chemical Instrumentation from the University of Manchester. His research interests are focused on the development of electrochemical, spectroscopic and chromatographic analytical methods as well as the development of automated analytical systems.