Development and Interlaboratory Validation of an Analytical Method for the Determination of Saflufenacil in Agricultural Products by HPLC-UVD and LC-MS

Saflufenacil is a low-volatile and uracil-based herbicide. This herbicide is used for pre-and post- emergence control of major broadleaf weeds. The objective of present study was to develop and validate an analytical method for saflufenacil determination in agricultural products for ensuring the food safety. The saflufenacil residues in samples were extracted with acetone, dichloromethane, and then purified with silica and graphitized carbon car- tridge. The purified samples were analyzed by HPLC-UVD and confirmed with LC-MS. The linear range of saflufenacil was 0.1~5.0 µ gm L �1 with the correlation coefficient (r) = 0.999. Average recoveries of saflufenacil ranged from 80.5% to 110.2% at the spiked level of 0.02~0.5 mg kg �1 , while the relative standard deviation was 0.3~7.3%. In addition, the limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.005 and 0.02 mg L �1 , respectively. Furthermore, an interlaboratory study among three labs was conducted to validate the method, and the results were satisfactory.