COUPLED-COLUMN REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY UV ANALYZER FOR THE DETERMINATION OF POLAR PESTICIDES IN WATER

Coupled-column RPLC with UV detection using direct large volume inject ions of up to 4 ml can be used for the rapid and sensitive determinati on of single polar pesticides in environmental water samples. The limi ts of determination for pesticides such as bentazone and isoproturon a re 0.1 mug/l in real-life samples and the sample throughput is 5-7/h. Linearity is observed over at least three decades and the repeatabilit y is satisfactory (relative standard deviations 3-7% at spiking levels of 0.1-0.5 mug/1). The set-up is fully automated and shows good robus tness. The coupled-column PPLC-UV analyser has successfully been used in several monitoring programmes.