Novel molecularly-imprinted solid-phase microextraction fiber coupled with gas chromatography for analysis of furan

• This new monolithic molecular imprinted polymer fiber could answer to the call for selective and fast analysis of furan.
• High selectivity.
• Low price.
• High stability in different condition.

This study combined a molecularly-imprinted polymer with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME). Preparation of molecularly-imprinted polymer is not effective for volatile compounds. To overcome this limitation, pyrrole was chosen as a template for the preparation of the furan-imprinted polymer. The holes in the synthesized polymer were suitable for furan adsorption because the chemical structure of pyrrole is similar to that of furan. The extraction properties of the fiber to furan were examined using an HS-SPME device coupled with gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The effects of the extraction parameters of exposure time, sampling temperature, and salt concentration on extraction efficiency were studied. Satisfactory reproducibility was obtained for extractions from spiked water samples at RSD<7.5% (n=5). The calibration graphs were linear at 0.5–100 ng ml−1 and the detection limit for furan was 0.042 ng ml−1. The fabricated fiber was successfully applied for headspace extraction of furan from tap water and canned tuna as shown by GC–MS analysis.

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