Development of extraction and detection method for fluridone in water and sediment by HPLC-UV

Abstract

Fluridone is widely used as a herbicide for controlling invasive aquatic plants such as hydrilla in surface water bodies. When applied on surface waters fluridone can attach to bed sediment, requiring rigorous extraction methods prior to analysis. Currently, very limited information exists in terms of fluridone residue detection in delta sediment. In this study, we researched fluridone detection in both water and sediment. To extract fluridone from sediment, here we have tested two extraction methods: (1) a rotavapor method (RM); and (2) a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) method (QM). The extraction results of RM were compared with those of QM. To quantify fluridone concentrations in extracts, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-UV detector was used. HPLC separation was achieved using an Allure C18 5 µm 150 × 4.6 mm column with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and water (60:40, v/v). The UV detector was operated at 237 nm. The method was tested and validated using a series of water and sediment samples taken from Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta in California. The average recovery of fluridone was 73% and 78% using RM and QM respectively. The proposed method can be used for testing fluridone in water and sediment samples.

Efficacy and Fate of Fluridone Applications for Control of Invasive Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in the Estuarine Environment of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

“…Within 24 h of collection, samples were delivered to a University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) laboratory for fluridone analysis. This laboratory used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, also called FasTEST) to analyze all samples until May 2018 (Pandey et al 2019). From June 2018 onward, they used high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) (Wickham et al 2019).…”

“…This laboratory used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, also called FasTEST) to analyze all samples until May 2018 (Pandey et al 2019). From June 2018 onward, they used high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) (Wickham et al 2019). ELISA and HPLC results compare well across a wide range of fluridone concentrations (Netherland et al 2002).…”

“…Sediment fluridone analysis was conducted by the same laboratory at UC-Davis that analyzed the water samples. This laboratory developed methods specifically for fluridone analysis of sediment (Wickham et al 2019). Fluridone was extracted from wet sediment using the QuECh-ERS method (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) (Wickham et al 2019), and concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV).…”

“…This laboratory developed methods specifically for fluridone analysis of sediment (Wickham et al 2019). Fluridone was extracted from wet sediment using the QuECh-ERS method (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) (Wickham et al 2019), and concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV). Because these methods were still under development, sediment fluridone concentration was not analyzed during the first few months of the study.…”