Development of Analytical Methods to Analyze Pesticide Residues

Dear Colleagues,

Plant protection products have been used in agriculture throughout the world since the middle of the 20th century to control pests, diseases, and weeds in crops, and it is known that the use of pesticides provides unquestionable benefits in increasing agricultural production. However, since pesticide residues can be widely dispersed from their application areas, they can reach the environment and the food chain, constituting a potential risk to consumers. In this sense, authorities and the agricultural sector are attempting to establish a high level of protection for human health, animal health, and the environment, preventing the approval of hazardous substances with a major environmental impact, establishing legal directives to control their levels through, for example, the Maximum Residue Levels, and continuously searching for pesticides that are less persistent and toxic for human consumers.

The analysis of pesticide residues in food and environmental samples has received increasing attention in the last few decades, and different techniques are used since pesticides include a variety of compounds with very different physico-chemical characteristics and large differences in polarity, volatility, and thermal stability. The analysis of pesticides remains a challenge due to the low detection levels required by regulatory bodies and the complex nature of the matrices in which the target compounds are present. Therefore, analytical methodologies are strongly required which have efficient sample preparation and very-low-level detection and identification to provide the sensitivity, selectivity, and specificity needed to meet EU legislation for the analysis of pesticides in environmental and food samples.

This Special Issue aims to attract original research or review articles on all aspects related to the different analytical methods used for the determination of pesticides in different matrices (e.g., food or environmental compartments), as well as those describing recent advances, future trends, and innovations. Studies focused on sample preparation, monitoring, and degradation products of pesticides are also welcome.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Molecules.

Dr. Pilar Sandín-España
Dr. Thierry Dagnac
Guest Editors

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• Pesticide residue
• Method development
• Chromatography
• Extraction procedure
• Sample preparation
• Residue analysis
• Degradation products
• Analytical methodology
• Trace levels

• Development of Analytical Methods to Analyze Pesticide Residues in Molecules (12 articles)