Determination of azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil using a methacrylate-based polymer modified with gold nanoparticles...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Fungicides like azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil are widely used, necessitating reliable detection methods.
• Existing analytical techniques may lack sensitivity or efficiency for complex environmental matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, sensitive, and reusable method for extracting and determining azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil.
• To validate the method's performance in various drinking and environmental water samples.

Main Methods:

• Solid-phase extraction (SPE) utilizing a polymeric material functionalized with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a sorbent.
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector (DAD) for fungicide determination.
• Optimization of key experimental variables including eluent volume, sample flow rate, and salt addition.

Main Results:

• The developed SPE-AuNPs method demonstrated high enrichment efficiency, selectivity, and excellent reusability (>120 cycles).
• The method achieved a detection limit of 0.05 μg L⁻¹ for both fungicides.
• Satisfactory recovery rates (75–95%) were obtained for azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil in diverse water types (river, well, tap, irrigation, spring, sea).

Conclusions:

• The proposed SPE-HPLC-DAD method is effective for the sensitive and selective determination of azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil in various water samples.
• The use of AuNPs-functionalized SPE sorbent offers a robust and reusable platform for environmental fungicide analysis.
• This methodology provides a valuable tool for water quality monitoring and risk assessment related to fungicide contamination.