Coupling of size-exclusion chromatography to liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for determination of trace levels of thifensulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in cottonseed and cotton gin trash.

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) was coupled to reversed-phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the determination of thifensulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in cottonseed and cotton gin trash. The limit of quantitation was 20 parts per billion (ppb), and the limit of detection was 6 ppb. The analytes were extracted by homogenization in a buffer solution. The extracts underwent a solvent exchange into methanol and were injected onto an SEC column. As the analytes eluted from the SEC column, the eluate was diverted onto a reversed-phase column for additional separation of the analytes and their detection via mass spectrometry. This method is unique because the samples are not cleaned up before analysis, the analytes are injected in methanol, and the entire analysis is completed in 30 min. Average recoveries and standard deviations for thifensulfuronmethyl and tribenuron-methyl in cotton gin trash were 91 +/- 6% and 88 +/- 5%, respectively. Average recoveries and standard deviations for thifensulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in cottonseed were 91 +/- 11% and 99 +/- 12%, respectively. This is an effective method for the detection and determination of thifensulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in cotton.