Determination of amitraz pesticide by adsorptive stripping voltammetry on the hanging mercury drop electrode

A sensitive method for the determination of amitraz pesticide at nanomolar level by adsorptive stripping voltammetry at a hanging mercury drop electro de is described. The cyclic voltammograms demonstrate the adsorption of thi s compound on the mercury electrode. A systematic study of the various expe rimental parameters, that affect the stripping response, was carried out by differential pulse voltammetry. Using an accumulation potential of -0.50 V , and 30 s accumulation time, the limit of detection was found to be 2.3 x 10(-9) mol L-1 and the relative standard deviations (n = 5) was 2.2% at con centration level of 5.0 x 10(-8) mol L-1 of amitraz. The influence of diver se ions and some other pesticides was investigated. Finally, the method was applied to the determination of amitraz in spiked soil and water. The rela tive standard deviation is 4.5% for 5 determinations of amitraz in water an d 3.2% for 5 determinations in soil.