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Determination of chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

K.A. Hostetler·E.M. Thurman
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Abstract

Analytical methods using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) were developed for the analysis of the following chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water: alachlor ethanesulfonic acid (ESA); alachlor oxanilic acid; acetochlor ESA; acetochlor oxanilic acid; metolachlor ESA; and metolachlor oxanilic acid. Good precision and accuracy were demonstrated for both the HPLC-DAD and HPLC/MS methods in reagent water, surface water, and ground water. The average HPLC-DAD recoveries of the chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites from water samples spiked at 0.25, 0.5 and 2.0 μg/l ranged from 84 to 112%, with relative standard deviations of 18% or less. The average HPLC/MS recoveries of the metabolites from water samples spiked at 0.05, 0.2 and 2.0 μg/l ranged from 81 to 118%, with relative standard deviations of 20% or less. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for all metabolites using the HPLC-DAD method was 0.20 μg/l, whereas the LOQ using the HPLC/MS method was at 0.05 μg/l. These metabolite-determination methods are valuable for acquiring information about water quality and the fate and transport of the parent chloroacetanilide herbicides in water.

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K.A. Hostetler, E.M. Thurman. 2000. Determination of chloroacetanilide herbicide metabolites in water using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0048-9697(99)00538-0

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