Abstract:

A rapid analytical method based on modified quick easy cheap effective rugged and safe (QuEChERS) sample
preparation and gas chromatography (GC) for the analysis of imazalil residue in fruits and vegetables has been developed.
Samples were extracted with acetonitrile containing 1% acetic acid and salted out by anhydrous MgSO4 and NaCl. Then,
after clean-up on N-propyl ethylenediamine (PSA) cartridge and octadecyl silica bonded phase (C18), the imazalil residue
in the supernatant was subjected to GC-ECD analysis. An excellent linearity was achieved for imazalil in the range of
0.2–5.0 mg/L (r = 0.9994). The detection limit was 0.02 mg/kg. The average spike recovery rates were in the range of
74.3%–86.7% with relative standard deviation less than 10%. The proposed method was simple, accurate, low-cost and
applicable for the determination of imazalil residue in fruits and vegetables.

Key words: imazalil, QuECHERS, gas chromatography, fruits and vegetables, preservative