Mass Balance Method for Purity Assessment for Pesticide Analytical Standards

Imazamox, a widely used herbicide, is currently managed by the Pesticide MRLs and Positive List System of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the development of reliable standard materials for analysis is urgently required. To confirm the reliability of the mass balance method, we measured the purity of the imazamox reference material (RM) certified by an RM producer accredited with ISO Guide 34 and estimated measurement uncertainty. According to this method, the content of structurally similar organic impurities was measured using high-performance liquid chromatographic coupled with ultraviolet (HPLC-UV), and the moisture, volatile impurities, and non-volatile impurities were quantitatively analyzed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Purity and measurement uncertainty were calculated based on analysis of the HPLC-UV and TGA results obtained, and the validity of these values was confirmed by comparing with the values provided in the RM certificate.