A Smart Way to Find Pesticides in Oils

Researchers came up with a new method to check how many organochlorine pesticides are in edible oils. They used something called density tunable dispersive solid phase extraction, or DTDSPE for short. This method combines the extraction with a process called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). They used a dye called Rhodamine B to help pull the pesticides out of the oil. To make sure this method worked well, they tested different things that could affect how strong the extraction was. This included the type and amount of liquid used, how much Rhodamine B was needed, the amount of methanol, and the temperature of the ultrasonic bath.The results showed that this method could find very small amounts of pesticides, as low as 0. 21 to 0. 36 ng per gram. It also worked well with a wide range of pesticide levels, from 1. 1 to 100 ng per gram. They found that 64% to 72% of the pesticides were pulled out, and they got enrichment factors of 102 to 115. The method was also precise, with a relative standard deviation of 3. 6 to 6. 8% for intra-day and 3. 1 to 8. 8% for inter-day tests. This approach reduced the amount of oil matrix that interfered with the test and allowed researchers to find and measure the amount of four specific organochlorine pesticides in different types of oils, such as canola, corn, sunflower, and olive. This new method is a great tool for scientists to check for pesticides in different oil samples. It's simple, sensitive, and good for the environment.