Liquid chromatographic determination of beta-naphthoxyacetic acid in tomatoes

An alternative high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of beta-naphthoxyacetic acid (BNOA) in tomatoes is described. BNOA was extracted from tomatoes with acetone-dichloromethane (2:1). The extract was cleaned up by Bio-Beads S-X3 gel-permeation chromatography and by partitioning. A reversed-phase C18 column was used for HPLC analysis. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-2% acetic acid in water (50:50, v/v) pumped at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. Retention time of BNOA was ca. 7 min with a percentage coefficient of variation of 0.71. Resolution of BNOA was good on the column. Percentage recoveries of BNOA were 79.5 +/- 6.82, 94.8 +/- 2.70 and 86.4 +/- 16.43 for the corresponding spiking levels of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 micrograms per g tomato, respectively. Analysis of 10 greenhouse tomato samples from local markets in Ankara showed no BNOA residue.