Development of a Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Six Sulfonylurea Herbicides in Wheat, Rice, and Corn by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A sensitive and reliable method was developed and validated for trace determination of sulfonylurea herbicides residues in cereals (wheat, rice, and corn) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The selected analytes were ethoxysulfuron, ethametsulfuron-methyl, bensulfuron-methyl, chlorimuron-ethyl, pyrazosulfuron-ethyl, and cyclosulfamuron. In this work, the extraction procedure was performed by using a mixture solvent of phosphate buffer (pH 9.5)/acetonitrile (8:2, v/v) as the extraction solvent and then was cleaned up by using Spe-ed C18/18% SPE cartridges, providing good recoveries for all of the tested analytes and with no matrix effects affecting method accuracy. The limits of detection for the studied analytes in cereal samples were between 0.043 and 0.23 mu g kg(-1),and the limits of quantification were between 0.14 and 0.77 mu g kg(-1), lower in all cases than the maximum residue limits permitted by the European Union for this kind of food. The developed methodology has demonstrated its suitability for the monitoring of these residues in cereal samples with high sensitivity, precision, and satisfactory recoveries.