Determination of azoxystrobin and chlorothalonil using a methacrylate-based polymer modified with gold nanoparticles as solid-phase extraction sorbent.

This paper describes a novel and sensitive method for extraction, preconcentration, and determination of two important widely used fungicides, azoxystrobin, and chlorothalonil. The developed methodology is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) using a polymeric material functionalized with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as sorbent followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detector (DAD). Several experimental variables that affect the extraction efficiency such as the eluent volume, sample flow rate, and salt addition were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the sorbent provided satisfactory enrichment efficiency for both fungicides, high selectivity and excellent reusability (>120 re-uses). The proposed method allowed the detection of 0.05 μg L of the fungicides and gave satisfactory recoveries (75-95 %) when it was applied to drinking and environmental water samples (river, well, tap, irrigation, spring, and sea waters).