EN
A liquid chromatographic method coupled with UV- Vis 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.