ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 18.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 449 18.2 Physicochemical Properties........................................................................................... 450
18.2.1 Physicochemical Properties and Degradation of Pesticides ...................... 450 18.2.2 Toxicity of Pesticides........................................................................................ 454 18.2.3 Regulations......................................................................................................... 455
18.3 Sample Preparation ........................................................................................................ 455 18.3.1 Extraction ........................................................................................................... 456
18.3.1.1 Liquid-Liquid Extraction................................................................ 456 18.3.1.2 Solid-Phase Extraction..................................................................... 456 18.3.1.3 Solid-Phase Microextraction........................................................... 457 18.3.1.4 Other Extraction Techniques.......................................................... 458
18.3.2 Cleanup............................................................................................................... 458 18.3.3 Derivatization .................................................................................................... 459
18.4 Analytical Methods ........................................................................................................ 459 18.4.1 Chromatographic Methods ............................................................................. 460
18.4.1.1 Gas Chromatography ...................................................................... 460 18.4.1.2 Liquid Chromatography ................................................................. 471 18.4.1.3 Other Chromatographic Techniques ............................................ 473
18.4.2 Nonchromatographic Methods....................................................................... 473 18.4.2.1 Capillary Electrophoresis................................................................ 473 18.4.2.2 Immunochemical Methods............................................................. 479 18.4.2.3 Spectrophotometric Methods ......................................................... 480 18.4.2.4 Electrochemical Methods................................................................ 480
18.5 Conclusions...................................................................................................................... 480 Acknowledgment....................................................................................................................... 481 References ................................................................................................................................... 481
The number of chemicals encountered in the environment has grown with progress in industrial science and improvements in living standards. Protecting the environment and human health from exposure to organic pollutants is nowadays a priority objective for governments throughout the world. Pesticides constitute a very important group of
target compounds in this respect owing to their high toxicity and unavoidable use in agriculture [1,2]. In fact, these toxicants are used to control pests (insects, fungi, nematodes, grasses) on fruits, cereals, vegetables, ornamentals, and other types of crop [3,4]. As a consequence, their use and their presence in foods and water are subject to stringent regulations.
