Nitrofuran residues in animal sourced food: Sample extraction and identification methods – A review

Abstract

Food being a basic need for life is expected to be harmless on its consumption. However, animals used for food purpose are widely subjected to veterinary drugs for prophylactic and therapeutic purpose. Nitrofuran is a group of drugs which counts for the treatment of gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections in animals. Nitrofurans (NFs) have been reported to have allergic, mutagenic and carcinogenic reactions. This has led to research in development of robust and rapid method for their analysis in animal source food. Nitrofuran analysis requires longer time for sample preparation as the parent compounds need to be derivatized. Derivatization is the technique used to improve analyte characteristics for the separation and to increase method sensitivity. This process in LC-MS/MS and GCMS–/MS could improve compound detection ability. Due to low concentration level of analytes MS/MS techniques yield good repeatability and reproducibility. Derivatization of samples for LC/ESI/MS and GC–MS is a newer approach, but the goals are similar: to improve chromatographic retention or peak shape, eliminate carryover, facilitate sample cleanup, and form a stable derivative for unstable analytes using the MS/MS technique. Current trends in sample preparation have exposed the use of robust and quick processes, affordable separation and detection technologies. This review provides an overview of the most relevant advancements and improvement in the derivatization process and extraction methodologies applied for the analysis of NFs in food products.