Quantitative analysis of imazamox herbicide in environmental water samples by capillary electrophoresis electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry (CE–MS) with an electrospray ionization interface was applied for the quantitative analysis of imazamox pesticide in well water, potable water, and pond water. The detector response for imazamox was determined to be linear over the concentration range of 50–1 ng/ml. The limits of quantitation and detection of the method were determined to be 200 and 20 ng/l for imazamox compound in each type of water sample, respectively. The total sample preparation and CE–MS analysis time was under 2 h.