Development and Validation of a Liquid Chromatography Method for the Determination of Nitrofurans in Water

A liquid chromatographic method coupled with UVVis and photodiode–array detection for the determination of nitrofuran residues: nitrofurazone, nitrofurantoin, furazolidone, and furaltadone in water was developed and validated. Confirmation of the identity of nitrofurans was performed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface. The nitrofurans were isolated from water by solid–phase extraction and complete separation was obtained using a C18 analytical column and the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.01 M sodium acetate buffer pH=6.0 (250:750, v/v), with the detection at λ=376 nm. Average recoveries for the compounds ranged from 63% to 90%. The results of the validation show that the method can be successfully used for the official control of nitrofurans in water.