Quechers

The Quechers method is a streamlined approach that makes it easier and less expensive for analytical chemists to examine pesticide residues in food. The name is a portmanteau word formed from "Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe". [cite journal
author = F. J. Schenck and J. E. Hobbs
title = Evaluation of the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) Approach to Pesticide Residue Analysis
journal = Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
volume = 73
issue = 1
pages = 24-30
publisher = Springer
location = New York
date = July 2004
doi = 10.1007/s00128-004-0388-y
id = PMID 15386067]

A single, easy-to-clean Teflon tube is the only item to be washed and reused, eliminating all the laboratory glassware used in conventional methods.

The QuEChERS method has been readily accepted by many pesticide residue analystsFact|date=August 2008. Some modifications to the original QuEChERS method had to be introduced to ensure efficient extraction of pH dependent compounds (e.g. phenoxyalcanoic acids), to minimize degradation of susceptible compounds (e.g. base and acid labile pesticides) and to expand the spectrum of matrices covered.

The analyst homogenizes the sample (fruits, vegetables, tobacco, etc) in a blender; puts it in a centrifuge tube with a reagent and agitates for one minute. The reagents used depend on the type of sample to be analysed. Following this the sample is put through a cleanup column prior to analysis by gas chromatography.

References

External links

* [http://www.quechers.com/ Quechers page, CVUA Stuttgart]