Determination of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural from baby formula using headspace solid phase microextraction based on nanostructured polypyrrole fiber coupled with ion mobility spectrometry

• Sensitivity of furfural (Fu) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMFu) were investigated in IMS.
• HS-SPME coupled to IMS used for analysis Fu and HMFu in baby formula samples.
• The HS-SPME–IMS is precise, selective and sensitive analytical method.
• There was no need derivatization procedure for Fu and HMFu determination.

Furfural (Fu) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMFu) are extracted using a dodecylbenzenesulfonate-doped polypyrrole coating as a fiber for headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method in baby formula samples and detected using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Sample pH, salt effect, extraction time and temperature were investigated and optimized as effective parameters in HS-SPME. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 20–300 ng g−1 (R2 > 0.99). Limits of detection for Fu and HMFu were 6 ng g−1 and 5 ng g−1, respectively. The RSD% of Fu and HMFu for five analyses was 4.4 and 4.9, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine of Fu and HMFu in the different baby formula samples with satisfactory result. The results were in agreement with those obtained using HPLC analysis. The HS-SPME–IMS is precise, selective and sensitive analytical method for determination of Fu and HMFu in baby formula samples, without any derivatization process.