Determination of Buprofezin Residues in Rice and Fruits Using HPLC with LC/MS Confirmation

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed to determine buprofezin residues in hulled rice and fruits. The buprofezin residue was extracted with acetone and the extract was stepwise purified by liquid-liquid partition and Florisil column chromatography. For rice samples, acetonitrile/n-hexane partition was additionally employed to remove nonpolar lipids. Reversed phase HPLC using an octadecylsilyl column was successfully applied to separate buprofezin from sample co-extractives, as detected by ultraviolet absorption at 250 nm. Recovery experiment at the limit of quantitation validated that the proposed method could evidently determine the buprofezin residue at the level of 0.02 mg/kg. Mean recoveries from hulled rice, apple, pear, and persimmon samples fortified at three tenfold levels were in the range of 80.8~85.2%, 89.1~98.4%, 88.8~95.7% and 90.8~96.2%, respectively. Relative standard deviations of the analytical method were all less than 5%, irrespective of sample types. A selected-ion monitoring LC/mass spectrometry with positive electrospray ionization was also provided to sensitively confirm the suspected residue.