Spectrofluorimetric Method for Quantification of Triazine Herbicides in Agricultural Matrices

A spectrofluorimetric method for determination of triazine herbicides was developed. The method involves reaction of ammonical 2-cyanoacetamide with the herbicide. The net fluorescent intensity (FI) of the product was measured at 376 nm using 330 nm as excitation wavelength. A linear relationship between concentration and FI was found in the range of 0.3 - 10 μg mL(-1) for atrazine and 0.2 - 10 μg mL(-1) for terbutryn. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 0.07 ± 0.023 μg mL(-1) and 0.23 ± 0.023 μg mL(-1), respectively, with %RSD <12.1% for atrazine and 0.027 ± 0.009 μg mL(-1) and 0.091 ± 0.009 μg mL(-1), respectively, with %RSD <5% for terbutryn. The %recoveries of the subject triazines from soil and wheat grains were found in the range of 90.0 ± 0.14 to 96.0 ± 0.15% for atrazine and 95.0 ± 0.05 to 98 ± 0.02% for terbutryn.