Method optimization for simultaneous separation of six triazole fungicides in HPLC

Triazole pesticides are widely used in agriculture against fungi pathogens. Their application is not restricted on just one member of the group; more importantly, the application is usually carried out in a mixture of two or more triazoles. Hence, this work focuses on simultaneous separation and detection of six triazole fungicides: penconazole, tebuconazole, propiconazole, cyproconazole, fenbuconazole, and difenoconazole. Two different columns were tested with different parameters for isocratic and gradient elution in HPLC with UV detector. On Purospher Reverse Phase-18 column with gradient elution isomers of triazoles cyproconazole and propiconazole were successfully separated. However, on this column, there was an overlap of some triazoles. In contrast, the isocratic elution on Kromasil Eternity-5-PhenylHexyl column showed sufficient separation capabilities. In further research, chiral separation of triazoles will be considered using capillary electrophoresis.