A simple method has been developed for Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) determination of Imidacloprid in pesticide formulations. Samples were diluted with CHCl3 and the FTIR spectra of samples and standards were obtained at a nominal resolution of 4 cm-1 from 4000 to 900 cm-1 accumulating 25 scans. Imidacloprid determination was based on the measure of either peak area from 1577 to 1567 cm-1 or peak height at 1572 cm-1, both corrected using a horizontal baseline defined at 1900 cm-1. The limits of detection achieved, of the order of 9 µg g-1, were appropriate for the determination of Imidacloprid in commercially available formulations. FTIR results were statistically comparable to those found by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The procedure developed reduces organic solvent consumption, per sample preparation, from 53 mL CH3CN required for HPLC to 2.5 mL CHCl3, and reduces waste generation also increasing the sample measurement frequency from 10 h-1 to 60 h-1 as compared with the HPLC-UV reference method.
Imidacloprid; pesticide formulations; FTIR; HPLC-UV
