Pesticides in small volume plasma samples

Pesticides are widely applied and can enter the environment, potentially effecting non-target organisms. To better evaluate pesticide exposure using non-lethal techniques, a method was developed for the extraction of pesticides and their degradates from small (100 µL) volume plasma samples. Solid phase extraction was used for lipid removal after plasma samples were protein precipitated. Samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography and gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Samples were spiked at three different concentrations, low (25 ng/mL), medium (100 ng/mL), and high (250 ng/mL) and recoveries of 70 to 130% were achieved across all spike levels for 179, 180, and 183 of 210 target compounds were achieved, respectively; 182 compounds had recoveries of 70 to 130% across all spike levels and method detection levels ranged from 0.4 to 13.0 ng/mL These results can aid in characterizing pesticide exposure in nontarget organisms.