Multi-residue analysis of pesticides by GC-HRMS

Dr. Hans Mol is senior scientist at RIKILTWageningen UR Introduction Regulatory authorities throughout the world set and enforce strict limits on the maximum residue levels (MRLs or tolerances) of pesticides permitted on food and feeds. It falls to analytical laboratories to test these products and ensure they meet the relevant standards. The analytical challenge is to look for over 1,500 potential pesticide analytes, at low concentration, in a wide variety of samples of different matrix complexity; it’s a big job. The MRLs tend to be low; In the EU, for example, the default MRL is set at 0.01 mg/kg. Finally, laboratories often need to process large numbers of samples each day. Such high throughput analyses call for a flexible, sensitive, and robust platform. In this paper, we will discuss the use of Thermo Scientific GC Orbitrap system for multi-residue analysis of pesticides. We’ll begin with a brief introduction to the challenge, followed by a description of the operation and then we will highlight the advantages and limitations of the Orbitrap system.