Multi-residue method for the analysis of pesticides in Arabica coffee using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Coffee is a major tropical agricultural commodity and represents a significant fraction of the economy of many countries. However, certain plant and animal species can damage coffee crops, affecting trade. A solution to this issue is the use of pesticides, some of which are harmful to human health and the environment.

A multi-residue method for the determination of 90 pesticides in matrices with a high water content by LC-MS/MS without clean-up.

A method using QuEChERS extraction and LC-MS/MS in electrospray positive ionisation mode was developed and validated for the analysis of 90 pesticides in a high water content matrix (tomato) in a single chromatographic run. To assess the intra-laboratory reproducibility of the method, validation was conducted on four different days by two different analysts. The validation data was treated using a spreadsheet developed in-house, which sets the most appropriate model for linear fit by determining whether the residuals of the calibration curves are homocedastic or heterocedastic.