Admicelle-enhanced synchronous fluorescence spectrometry for the determination of thiabendazole

Thiabendazole [ 2-(4-thiazolyl)-1H-benzimidazoleis] is a fungicide widely used in agriculture as the principal active substance of various commercial formulations. Therefore, its determination at trace and ultratrace levels in environmental samples is of high importance. In the present work, a simple and highly sensitive method for the determination of thiabendazole in river and underground water was developed. Thiabendazole in water samples was concentrated into sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-alumina admicelles. The collection was performed by adding SDS and alumina particles into the sample solution at appropriate pH. After gentle mixing, the resulting suspension was passed through a membrane filter to collect the SDS admicelles containing highly concentrated pesticide. Adsolubilization of analytes occurred through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The filter was placed on a slide glass and then covered with a fused silica glass plate before setting in a fluorescence spectrometer. Thiabendazole was selectively determined by the synchronous fluorescence scan (SFS) analysis with keeping wavelength intervals between excitation and emission to 50 nm. The Linear rang for thiabendazole was 0.2-35 ng mL-1 with corresponding detection limit of 0.057 ngml−1. The relative standard deviation (n = 8) was 4% for 10 ng mL-1 of thiabendazole. Calcium and magnesium was found to decrease analyte retention due to the disruption of SDS admicelles; however, this interference was easily removed by adding EDTA to solutions. The recovery results for several real samples were satisfactory.