How does it work?

QuEChERS is a descriptive acronym that stands for quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe. The QuEChERS technique addresses the shortcomings of traditional sample preparation methods, such as long extraction procedures and hazardous solvents use, and radically simplifies multi-residue pesticide
analysis in food samples.

The QuEChERS technique consists of two steps, extraction and dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE).

Step 1: Extraction
First, pesticides and analytes of interest must be extracted from the food sample. This process relies on the
combination of organic solvent and various salts to partition the analytes from food samples into an organic
layer (typically acetonitrile).

• Blend analytes from fruits or vegetables.
• Weigh blended sample.
• Add salts.
• Shake tube for 1 minute.
• Centrifuge tube for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Dispersive sold phase extraction (dSPE)
An aliquot of the extracted organic layer further purified by dispersive SPE. Unwanted interferences such as lipids and pigments are removed in this step.

• Add supernatant from extraction procedure into a roQ™ dSPE tube.
• Shake dSPE tube for 30 seconds.
• Centrifuge dSPE tube for 5 minutes.
• Analyze supernatant by GC or HPLC.