Structural characterization and physicochemical properties of different hydrophilic natural deep eutectic solvents.

To overcome the toxic nature of organic solvents, scientific interest in the use of green solvents, particularly natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES), has increased over the past decade, leading to new applications in the food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Understanding the physicochemical properties and molecular interactions of NADES is essential for uncovering new potential applications in these fields. In this study, several lactic and citric acid-based NADES, as well as chloride choline- and urea-based NADES, were evaluated for their physicochemical properties, including density, pH, viscosity, conductivity, and refractive index.

Comprehensive analysis of contaminants in Brazilian infant formulas: Application of QuEChERS coupled with UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS and suspect screening-unknown analysis by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS.

Infant formulas (IF) can contain harmful chemical substances, such as pesticides and mycotoxins, resulting from the contamination of raw materials and inputs used in the production chain, which can cause adverse effects to infants. Therefore, the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) methodology prior ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPL-QqQ-MS/MS) analysis was applied for the determination of 23 contaminants, in 30 samples of Brazilian IF. The method was validated in terms of limit of detection (0.

Development and Application of a Novel Pluri-Residue Method to Determine Polar Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables through Liquid Chromatography High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Nowadays, highly polar pesticides are not included in multiresidue methods due to their physico-chemical characteristics and therefore, specific analytical methodologies are required for their analysis. Laboratories are still looking for a pluri-residue method that encompasses the largest number of polar pesticides. The aim of this work was the simultaneous determination of ethephon, 2-hydroxyethylphosphonic acid (HEPA), fosetyl aluminum, glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), N-acetyl-glyphosate and N-acetyl-AMPA in tomatoes, oranges, aubergines and grapes.

Application of full scan gas chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry data to quantify targeted-pesticide residues and to screen for additional substances of concern in fresh-food commodities.

A novel application, which combines targeted and non-targeted approaches, using gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (GCHRMS) for multiresidue analysis of pesticides in fruits and vegetables is proposed; the aim is to add information to that obtained from targeted methods to be used in pesticide residues monitoring laboratories. Extract from fruit samples obtained with QuEChERS method are analysed with two different approaches: a first step in targeted mode in full scan, and a second step in non-targeted mode with HRMS deconvolution. The targeted method was validated for 191 pesticides, in banana, watermelon, pear and strawberry, with recoveries within 70-120%, precision-RSD <20%, linearity between 1-100 µg/kg (5-100 µg/kg in strawberry) and quantification limits (LOQs) of 5 µg/kg.

Evaluation of the behaviour of propoxycarbazone herbicide in soils and water under different conditions. Post-targeted study.

The aim of this study is to understand the levels and behaviour of the herbicide propoxycarbazone in environmental compartments, which are poorly characterized considering degradation products that might reach either surface water as groundwater or soil samples. To this end, an analytical method, based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS), has been developed to determine the parent compound and its transformation products in soils and water. In addition, a set of laboratory trials has been designed to address the dissipation process of propoxycarbazone formulation in both environmental substrates.