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The use of gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) applied to determine multiple pesticide residues in fresh vegetables has been thoroughly studied. A single injection method to detect, confirm and quantify 54 multiclass pesticides has been developed and applied in a routine analysis laboratory. The proposed method consists of a rapid extraction of 15 g of vegetable sample with dichloromethane. An additional clean-up step is not necessary even when injecting 10 microL of extract. Instead the gas chromatograph was fitted with a carbofrit inserted into the glass liner and a guard column. In addition, the detection mode chosen (MS/MS) provides additional selectivity. The method has been validated and applied to 1300 samples in a routine laboratory following specified quality criteria. The recovery efficiencies obtained for all the pesticides ranged between 70.2 and 110.8% at two different fortification levels. The relative standard deviation for quantification (RSD) was lower than 16.7% for all the compounds. Important experimental parameters, such as the conditioning of carbofrit, overload of the analytical column, and cleanliness of the ion trap, were evaluated for their influence on the performance of the method.

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