Introducing a low-cost jute activated carbon as a novel cleanup agent in multiclass pesticide residue analysis using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract For the first time, jute activated carbon (JAC), a byproduct of the jute industry, was characterised and evaluated for its cleanup efficiency in a mixture of 181 multiclass pesticide residue testing using gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Four commercially-important food matrices including okra, spinach, pomegranate and tea were chosen. Various physico-chemical techniques were used to characterise the material. The cleanup method involved dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) using a combination of JAC (5 mg) with 25 mg of primary secondary amine per mL of the sample extract (in ethyl acetate). The findings demonstrated a lower matrix effect and higher signal-to-noise ratio were recorded for JAC. Overall, the method offered satisfactory recoveries for most of the pesticides in all the tested matrices. The cleanup effectiveness of JAC showed superiority over the commercially available, non-renewable dSPE sorbent viz. graphitised carbon black (GCB). With a production cost of only US Dollar ~10/kg, JAC is a low-cost alternative to commercial GCB (cost = US Dollar 11–12/g). The study valorises the potential of JAC and anticipates its large-scale application in food testing laboratories.