Gas chromatographic determination of organophosphorus insecticides and their dialkyl phosphate metabolites in liver and kidney samples

A method is described for the quantitative determination of organophosphorus insecticides and six dialkyl phosphate metabolites in animal tissues. The procedure relies on solvent extraction, automated gel permeation chromatography cleanup, and gas chromatographic analysis with flame photometric detection. Tetrabutylammonium hydroxide is utilized as the derivatization reagent for dialkyl phosphate metabolite analysis. Method detection limits ranged from 0.02 to 0.05 ppm for the compounds studied. The method was applied to the analysis of liver and kidney samples of pigeons exposed to diazinon and parathion. Residue levels were confirmed by mass spectrometry, using selected ion monitoring