Chromatography Forum

I'm trying to quantitate furfural and methylfurfural on an LCMS using electrospray. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing anything.
Does anyone have a feeling for whether these molecules will ionize by electrospray? Maybe with the right mobile phase
or additive? All suggestions welcome!

I guess you want to get these in a run with something else you're doing? Those 2 molecules are easy by headspace GC.

Good point. I do have another compound and it reacts with my stationary phase to produce methylfurfural.
Thus I always see methylfurfural whether it is in my sample or not.

You will probably have to do the DNPH(Dinitrophenylhyriazine) derivatization to get it to elute by HPLC. Look at EPA Method 8315 or 1667 for a procedure. I have analyzed Formaldehyde this way using the LCMSMS before.

We tried furfural by LCMS and it only gives a weak signal and elutes quite early. SPME works well for us.

Why do Furfural and 5-methyl Furfural on a LC? I see it quite routinely on the GC/MS. FID would work fine as well.

I think Methyl Furfural could be too volatile for LC MS; when you evaporate MP you could loopsing DMF.
DNPH is good option.

BR

Oscar Cortes

I've done furfural by LC with just UV detection as well as GC headspace FID... no need for LC/MS!

- Karen

It should be much cheaper and easier to do it via GC-FID or MS. The only issue I've ever seen is acetic acid and furfural coelute on an Inowax column so use a different column. Save the LC for nonvolitiles. Plus you will have higher sensitivity on the GC.