Application of a novel microextraction method for determination of organophosphorous pesticides from fruit juice using high performance liquid chromatography

Crops such as fruits as raw materials for the production of fruit juices are affected by different pests that are regularly used to combat these agents in agriculture activities. Some of these substances not only remain on the surface of crops but also penetrate their tissues, as most of the crops exposed to pesticides contain amounts of pesticide residues that enter the consumer's body along with foods. For this reason, the use of precise and efficient methods in evaluating the residuals amounts of these compounds in food products is of great value. In this research, a combination of air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction and liquid-liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic drop methods has developed for extraction and preconcentration of some of the widely used organophosphorus pesticides used in Iran (Diazinon, Chlorpyrifos, Phosalone,  Parathion- methyl and Azinphos-methyl) from juice samples before their analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. Under optimal conditions, 32 μl of menthol as the extraction solvent and 75 μl acetonitrile as dispersive solvent at a temperature of 60 °C used to extract the analytes. The proposed method is simple, reliable, and inexpensive and yields optimal values ​​for extraction efficiency so that under optimized conditions the recoveries ranging from 61 to 79%. RSD% was in range 4.6 to 6.9, indicating high reproducibility of the proposed method. Other advantages of this method include low organic solvents consumption and short analysis time.