Determination of toxaphene residues in fish foodstuff by GC-MS.

A method for the determination of toxaphene residues in fish and fish-based baby foods has been developed. The cleanup of the fatty matrices was performed using an acid treatment on an Extrelut-NT3 and ENVI-Florisil SPE cartridges system, using light petroleum as eluent. Instrumental analysis was carried out by gaschromatography with mass spectrometry detector (GC/MS) in SIM mode.

Application of solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to the determination of neonicotinoid pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables.

A rapid and simple method for simultaneous analysis of four neonicotinoid insecticides including acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam in fruit and vegetable matrices has been developed. For instance, ready-to-use cartridges filled with a macroporous diatomaceous material were used to extract in a single step insecticide residues with dichloromethane from aqueous-acetone extracts of fruits and vegetables. The eluate was evaporated, the residue redissolved with methanol and then analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in the electrospray ionization (ESI) positive mode.

Organochlorine compounds in tissues of swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from Mediterranean Sea and Azores islands.

Polychlorobiphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine (OC) pesticides are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The Italian Ministry of Environment has undertaken a program (1999-2001) to measure levels of contaminants in top marine predators and to develop sensitive biomarkers for the evaluation of toxicological risk in these species. In 1999, 15 swordfishes (Xiphias gladius) taken from the Mediterranean Sea along the Sicilian coast (Strait of Messina, Italy) and in the Atlantic Ocean along the Azores Islands, and analysed for 34 congeners of PCBs and 27 organochlorine (OC) pesticides in gonad, muscle, liver and blubber tissues.

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in 12 edible marine organisms from the Adriatic Sea, Italy, Spring 1997.

Edible portions of 12 marine organisms from several areas of the Adriatic Sea, Italy, were collected during Spring 1997 and analysed for 32 organochlorine pesticides residues and 27 polychlorobiphenyl congeners. Only eight organochlorine pesticides - hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers, diphenyl-dichloro-trichloroethane (DDT) group, dieldrin - were determined at levels in the range <0.01-19.