Analysis of Furan and Its Derivatives in Food Matrices Using Solid Phase Extraction Coupled with Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The objective of this study was to develop a simultaneous analysis method of furan and its 10 derivatives in different food commodities. The results indicated that furan and its 10 derivatives could be separated within 9.5 min by using a HP-5MS column and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with multiple reaction monitoring mode for detection. Furthermore, this method could resolve several furan isomers, such as 2-methyl furan and 3-methyl furan, as well as 2,3-dimethyl furan and 2,5-dimethyl furan. The most optimal extraction conditions were: 5 g of the fruit or juice sample mixed with 5 mL of the saturated NaCl solution, separately, or 1 g of the canned oily fish sample mixed with 9 mL of the saturated NaCl solution, followed by the equilibration of each sample at 35 °C for 15 min, using a carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane SPME arrow to adsorb the analytes for 15 min at 35 °C for subsequent analysis by GC-MS/MS. For method validation of all the analytes in the different food matrices, the recovery was 76–117% and the limit of the quantitation was 0.003–0.675 ng/g, while the relative standard deviation (RSD%) of the intra-day variability range from 1–16%, and that of the inter-day variability was from 4–20%. The method validation data further demonstrated that a reliable method was established for the analysis of furan and its 10 derivatives in commercial foods.