Determination of triazines in infant nutrient cereal-based foods by pressurized microwave-assisted extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for determining triazine herbicides in infant nutrient cereal-based foods by pressurized microwave-assisted extraction (PMAE), coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MS), is described. The key parameters of PMAE, including extraction solvent, extraction time and temperature, were optimized. The isolation of the target compounds from the matrix was found to be efficient when 2 g of nutrient cereal samples was extracted with 20 mL of methanol for 10 min at 105 degrees C. Final determination was accomplished by HPLC-ESI/MS. The recoveries from 66.2 to 88.6% were obtained for three compounds at fortification levels (5-500 microg kg(-1)) with relative standard deviations (R.S.D.)