Cuantificación voltamétrica de carbofurano en papa (Solanum tuberosum L., Solanaceae)

Abstract

Overuse of pesticides may result in their accumulation in potato tubers and be a risk to consumer health if they exceed the permissible Maximum Residual Limit (LRM) by the Codex Alimentarius. Quantification of pesticide residues is expensive and mostly inaccessible to farmers, health authorities and supervisory entities.This paper describes a simple, economical and simple method for quantifying carbofuran in tubers. The differential pulse voltammetry method for carbofuran was validated for quantification in potato. A Britton-Robinson buffer was used as an electrolyte supporting solution, glassy carbon as working electrode, Ag/AgCl as reference electrode and platinum as counter electrode. The pesticide was extracted from the potato through a solid-liquid partition method and the results obtained by voltammetry were compared with UV-Vis spectroscopy deducing that the voltammetric method generates accurate and reliable results for carbofuran quantification in tubers. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of carbofuran in potato samples with satisfactory results. These results indicate the use of carbofuran in the town of Ventaquemada in the department of Boyaca, Colombia. This carbofuran detecting method can be used as a tool to monitor the use of this chemical compound in potato tubers.