Determination of Metaldehyde and its residue using analytical analysis

Abstract

Metaldehyde (2, 4, 6, 8-tetramethyl-1. 3, 5, 7-tetraoxocanemetacetaldehyde) is the tetramer of acetaldehyde (CHȝCHO). It is an organic compound that being use as pesticides by farmer and gardener to control slug and snail. Metaldehyde can retail in the environment, soluble in water with a solubility of 200 mg/L at 20 °C, and highly mobile in aqueous environments. This study is focuses on the determination of Metaldehyde and its residue using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer (UVVIS) and gas chromatographic mass spectrometer (GCMS). Water samples were directly extracted using liquid-liquid extraction. Dichloromethane and ethyl acetate was used to discard impurities in water sample and analyse using GCMS. 2, 4-dimethylphenol as an internal standard (IS) was used for evaluation of Metaldehyde detection in the sample. The optimization parameter of operating GCMS for Metaldehyde detection is 5.55 min and 6.21 min for IS with 50 ᵒ C of initial temperature. The method demonstrated to be suitable for the determination of Metaldehyde in water samples.