Highly selective magnetic dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer for simultaneous removal and clean-up of nitenpyram and imidacloprid from light and dark honey

This study presents a newly developed selective and sensitive dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (MIPs) for simultaneous removal and clean up of nitenpyram (NIT) and imidacloprid (IMI) pesticide residues from light and dark honey samples. Determination and quantification of both pesticides were performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, UHPLC-MS/MS. The sorbent MIPs best recoveries were obtained with 60 mg of sorbent MIPs, adsorption time of 20 min, and sample pH of 7. Low method limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were achieved, ranging from 0.03 to 0.09 µg L−1 and 0.06 to 0.12 µg L−1, respectively. Intra-day precision and inter-day precision (RSD) varied between 0.6% and 2.0% and 5.0% to 13.0%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to honey samples with obtained mean recoveries in the range of 95.2% to 108% and 94.3% to 105% for NIT and IMI.