Project Type
Poster
Publication Date
4-14-2022
Department or Program
Chemistry and Physics
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor #1
Reif, Randall
Abstract
Glyphosate is the main ingredient in several herbicides such as Roundup, Agrisel, and Eraser. While glyphosate is typically not directly harmful to aquatic life, there is the potential for the compound to be indirectly harmful when it is present in runoff that enters aquatic ecosystems. A sample of water from a pond local to sod and agricultural farms was obtained to analyze the presence of glyphosate and make an assessment based on the concentration of glyphosate in the sample of the risk of toxicity to the aquatic life. A 1 mL glyphosate standard of concentration 1000 ug/mL was used to conduct an internal calibration method using a series of five calibration standards. A range of concentrations from 4.43 x 10-4 M to 4.73 x 10-3 M were used for the calibration standards. The samples were reacted with phenyl isothiocyanate and analyzed using HPLC with a C18 column in 50:50 H2O:Acetonitrile. A solution containing no glyphosate was used as a control. The data will be analyzed using the chromatogram produced by the HPLC and a concentration limit of detection and quantitation limit. It is expected that glyphosate will be present in the sample, however, it will likely be present in a very minimal amount.