A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of carbofuran residues

A method has been developed for carbofuran residues, based on coupling carbofuran (2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methyl carbamate) with diazotized aniline to form a yellow compound with an absorption maximum at 460 nm. The relationship between absorbance and concentration is linear for 1-10 mug carbofuran/5 ml. The method is sensitive and can be applied to the determination of levels as low as 0.025 ppm carbofuran in a 40 g crop or soil sample.