Isolation of Carbendazim

Given that carbendazim decomposes at 250°C, we cannot use Gas Chromatography (GC) to isolate carbendazim in our samples. Thankfully, we could use High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)! HPLC analysis does not require high temperatures as there is no flash vaporization technique involved. Instead, samples are analysed at room temperature and therefore there is no risk of carbendazim decomposing during the analysis! Hurray for HPLC!

 

However, we should not celebrate too quickly and keep in mind that carbendazim slowly decomposes at alkaline pH, hence we will need to either acidify the sample, or maintain it at a neutral pH as we run it for analysis. 

Image credits:
HPLC - http://www.knauer.net/typo3temp/pics/aa01b4668f.jpg