Simplified cleanup and liquid chromatographic determination of oxamyl residues in potato tubers.

A simple and efficient method is presented for the extraction, cleanup, and liquid chromatographic (LC) determination of oxamyl residues in potato tubers. Samples are extracted with methanol, partitioned into dichloromethane, and cleaned up using Sep-Pak Florisil cartridges. LC determination is performed using a Zorbax PSM 60 size exclusion column with an acetonitrile-water (1 + 9) mobile phase and UV detection at 254 nm. Recovery of oxamyl from spiked control tubers averaged 94.1 and 85.9% at fortification levels of 0.4 and 0.08 micrograms oxamyl/g tuber, respectively. The minimum detectable concentration of oxamyl by this method is 0.01 micrograms/g.