Simultaneous determination of flupyradifurone and its two metabolites in fruits, vegetables, and grains by a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

An effective analytical method for the simultaneous determination of a novel insecticide flupyradifurone and its two metabolites was developed using ultra high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry coupled with a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe procedure. The three target compounds were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up with octadecylsilane, and were separated successfully between 1.9 and 3.1 min using an HSS T3 chromatographic column connected to an electrospray ionization source. All the matrix-matched samples at three fortified levels (0.01, 0.05, and 0.5 mg/kg) provided satisfactory recoveries in the range of 70.3–116.5% with relative standard deviations below 18.6%. The limits of quantitation were 10 μg/kg for flupyradifurone and difluoroethylamino-furanone and 100 μg/kg for 6-chloronicotinic acid. The limit of quantification of flupyradifurone was far below the maximum residue limit in the USA. The method is of great significance for establishing maximum residue limits in China.