On-line collection/concentration of trace amounts of formaldehyde in air with chromatomembrane cell and its sensitive determination by flow injection technique coupled with spectrophotometric and fluorometric detection

A simple, rapid and highly sensitive method for the determination of trace amounts of formaldehyde in air by using flow injection analysis (FIA) system coupled with a three-hole chromatomembrane cell (CMC) was investigated by using a spectrophotometer and a fluorometer. The CMC was applied to on-line collection/concentration of trace amounts of formaldehyde in air into water as an absorbing solution; formaldehyde in the air was found to be quantitatively transferred into the absorbing solution in CMC. The solution, containing absorbed formaldehyde, was introduced into the carrier stream of the FIA system. The amount of formaldehyde in an absorbing solution was measured spectrophotometrically and fluorometrically after the reaction with a mixed reagent of acetylacetone and ammonium acetate at pH 5.6–5.8. The amount of formaldehyde in the absorbing solution, measured by the proposed system, could be converted to the concentration of formaldehyde in the air sample. A calibration graph prepared by a series of standard formaldehyde aqueous solutions was adopted. The formaldehyde in indoor air, determined as exampled by the proposed spectrophotometric FIA, was found to be 5.14 ± 0.08 ppbv for 20 ml of the air sample at the air flow rate of 6 ml min⁻¹, and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 1.56%. The limit of detections (LODs) of HCHO in an absorbing solution was 2 × 10⁻⁸ M (0.6 ppb) and 8 × 10⁻⁹ M (0.2 ppb), respectively, by the spectrophotometric and the fluorometric FIA, and the LODs of HCHO in air sample of 40 ml were 0.05 and 0.03 ppbv, respectively. The interferences from foreign species were examined; tolerable concentrations of other aldehydes were more than 50-fold of formaldehyde (1 × 10⁻⁶ M).     

A sensitive flow analysis system for the fluorimetric determination of low levels of formaldehyde in alcoholic beverages

A sensitive FIA method was developed for the selective determination of formaldehyde in alcoholic beverages. This method is based on the reaction of Fluoral-P (4-amine-3-pentene-2-one) with formaldehyde, leading to the formation of 3,5-diacetyl-1,4-dihydrolutidine (DDL), which fluoresces at λ_ex = 410 nm and λ_em = 510 nm. The analytical parameters were optimized by the response surface method using the Box-Behnken design. The proposed flow injection system allowed for the determination of up to 3.33 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ of formaldehyde with R.S.D. < 2.5% and a detection limit of 3.1 ng mL⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to determine formaldehyde in alcoholic beverages, without requiring any sample pretreatment, and the results agreed with the reference at a 95% confidence level by paired t-test. In the optimized condition, the FIA system proved able to analyze up to 60 samples/h.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of free formaldehyde in cosmetics

An improved, sensitive method for the determination of formaldehyde in cosmetics and other commercial products is reported. The procedure is based on dilution of the sample with tetrahydrofuran-water (9:1), followed by precolumn derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and direct reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The formaldehyde derivative is stabilized in the reaction medium by addition of phosphate buffer and neutralization and detected in less than 10 min by the standard additions methods. The method also appears to be suitable for the direct evaluation of the formaldehyde donors used in cosmetics as preservatives.     

Kinetic determination of formaldehyde and hexamethylenetetramine with a cyanide-selective electrode

An automatic potentiometric reaction-rate method is described for the determination of formaldehyde and hexamethylenetetramine. The formaldehyde reacts with cyanide, and the reaction rate is followed with a cyanide-selective electrode. The time required for the reaction to consume a fixed amount of cyanide, and therefore for the potential to increase by a preselected amount (8.0 mV), is measured automatically and related directly to the formaldehyde concentration. The average error for the determination of 60–300 μg of formaldehyde in a sample volume of 1.00 ml was about 1.3%. Amounts of hexamethyl-enetetramine in the range 50–250 μg in a sample volume of 0–050 ml were determined after acid hydrolysis to formaldehyde with an average error of about 1.6%. Measurement times were in the range 18–80 s for both determinations. The method has been applied to the determination of hexamethylenetetramine in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Determination of copper at ng levels by in-line preconcentration and flow-injection analysis coupled with flame atomic-absorption spectrometry

Oxine/formaldehyde/resorcinol and oxine/formaldehyde/hydroquinone resins have been synthesized and their physicochemical properties studied. Conditions were optimized for the preconcentration of copper by batch extraction and column chromatography with the resins. A flow-injection analysis (FIA) manifold was constructed for the determination of copper at ng levels by preconcentration on microcolumns containing the resins, stripping, and atomic-absorption spectrometry. For batch preconcentration a pH of about 2.5-3 was optimal whereas in the FIA system a broader pH range (approximately 2-3.5) could be used. Separations of binary mixtures of Cu(II) with Ni(II) or PB(II) at microg/ml level did not show any cross-contamination. In the FIA, a 2 cm long column and 2 ml/min flow-rate were adequate for quantitative uptake of copper; 50 micro1 of 0.1M hydrochloric acid quantitatively eluted the copper.     

Determination of formaldehyde based on the enhancement of the chemiluminescence produced by CdTe quantum dots and hydrogen peroxide

Water-soluble cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) capped with glutathione (GSH) display chemiluminescence (CL) emission on reaction with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in strongly alkaline medium. It is found that the CL is strongly enhanced on addition of formaldehyde in aqueous solution. A flow injection system was developed, and it is shown that there is good linearity between CL intensity and the concentration of formaldehyde in the 0.06–3.0 μg L^?1 range. The limit of detection is as low as 10 ng L^?1. The method was successfully applied to the determination of formaldehyde in indoor air after adsorption into an aqueous phase. The recoveries for the real samples range from 97 % to 102.5 %, and the relative standard deviation is <3.8 % for intra- and inter-assay precision.

Flow-injection spectrofluorometric determination of trace amounts of formaldehyde in water after derivatization with acetoacetanilide

A novel fluorophotometric method for formaldehyde determination in environmental waters was developed: the method does not require any enrichment procedures. A flow-injection analysis method for the spectrofluorometric determination of formaldehyde in waters, which is based on the reaction of formaldehyde with acetoacetanilide and ammonia, is proposed. The proposed method shows a good linearity from 0.50 to 40 × 10⁻⁷ M, and the limit of detection (LOD) of 3 × 10⁻⁹ M (0.09 ppb) is achievable. The sample throughput is 15 h⁻¹. One of the main advantages in the proposed method is that the reaction can be carried out at room temperature without any heating system. The effect of various interferences possibly present in the real water samples was investigated. Most cations and anions, as well as organic compounds, do not interfere with the determination of formaldehyde in environmental water samples. The proposed method is very simple, rapid, less expensive, and highly sensitive, and can be applied to the environmental water samples, such as rain, tap water and river water, at low concentration levels without any enrichment procedure.     

Determination of formaldehyde by flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection exploiting brilliant green-sulphite reaction

A method for the determination of formaldehyde by flow injection analysis with spectrophotometric detection is proposed, based on retarding the reaction between brilliant green and sulphite by the addition of formaldehyde; this was investigated for formaldehyde quantification in extracts from wood-based panels. For the first time, a heating step was explored, providing a sample throughput of 50 analyses per hour, with a limit of detection of 0.02 mg L^?1 and linearity of 0.20–3.0 mg L^?1, which was adequate for the expected range of formaldehyde concentration in the extracts. The mean recovery observed for actual samples was in the range of 92–106 %, with a maximum relative standard deviation of 6.0 %. The paired t-test revealed no significant difference between this method and the official Nash method, demonstrating an appropriate accuracy and precision; the method is proposed as a simple, fast and inexpensive alternative for the routine determination of formaldehyde in an aqueous medium.     

Extraction-chromatographic preconcentration with chromatomembrane separation of extract from aqueous phase for luminescence determination of oil products and phenols in natural water by flow injection analysis

The new method of preconcentration by extraction for flow injection analysis (FIA) with luminescence and photometric detection is proposed. Preconcentration is carried out on extraction-chromatographic column, extract is eluted by extragent with the following separation of extract from aqueous phase in chromatomembrane cell. Possibilities of the proposed method are illustrated in the examples of FIA with luminescence determination of oil products and phenols in natural water.     

Amperometric determination of formaldehyde via the hexacyanoferrate(III) -coupled dehydrogenase reaction

An enzymatic method with amperometric detection was developed for the determination of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is first oxidized by reaction with NAD⁺ in the presence of formaldehyde dehydrogenase. The resulting NADH is then oxidized by hexacyanoferrate(III) in the presence of diaphorase to produce hexacyanoferrate(II). The anodic current generated by oxidation of the hexacyanoferrate(II) at the surface of a glassy carbon working electrode, held at a potential of 0.40 V vs. an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, is measured. The effects of solution conditions are examined and a linear relationship between rate of current change and formaldehyde concentration is obtained from 0.01 to 0.5 μg ml^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The relative standard deviation for the proposed method is 6.4% at 0.01 μg ml^?1 formaldehyde and 0.88% at 0.5 μg ml^?1.     

Formaldehyde-sensitive conductometric sensors based on commercial and recombinant formaldehyde dehydrogenase

Novel formaldehyde-sensitive conductometric biosensors have been developed that are based on commercial bacterial formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FDH) from Pseudomonas putida and recombinant formaldehyde dehydrogenase (rFDH) from the yeast Hansenula polymorpha as the bio-recognition elements. The bio-recognition membranes have mono-layer architecture and consist of enzyme cross-linked with albumin and of the cofactors NAD (for FDH-based sensor) or NAD and glutathione (for rFDH-based sensor). This architecture of the biosensor allows the determination of formaldehyde without adding NAD and glutathione to the analyzed sample at every analysis and conducting measurements on the same transducer without cofactors regeneration since the bio-membrane contains it at high concentration (100 mM for NAD and 20 mM for glutathione). The response is linear in the range from 10 to 200 mM of formaldehyde concentration depending on the enzyme used. The dependence of the biosensor output signals on pH and buffer concentration as well as operational/storage stability and selectivity/specificity of the developed conductometric biosensors have been investigated. The relative standard deviation of the intra-sensor response did not exceed 4% and 10% for rFDH- and FDH-based sensors, respectively. The relative standard deviation of the inter-sensor response constituted 20% for both dehydrogenases used. The biosensors have been validated for formaldehyde detection in some real samples of pharmaceutical (Formidron), disinfectant (Descoton forte) and an industrial product (Formalin). A good correlation does exist between the concentration values measured by the conductometric biosensor developed in this work, an enzymatic method, amperometric biosensors developed earlier, and standard analytical methods of formaldehyde determination.     

Enzymatic determination of choline in milk using a FIA system with potentiometric detection

The development of a FIA system for the determination of total choline content in several types of milk is described. The samples were submitted to hydrochloric acid digestion before injection into the system and passed through an enzymatic reactor containing choline oxidase immobilised on glass beads. This enzymatic reaction releases hydrogen peroxide which then reacts with a solution of iodide. The decrease in the concentration of iodide ion is quantified using an iodide ion selective tubular electrode based on a homogeneous crystalline membrane. Validation of the results obtained with this system was performed by comparison with results from a method described in the literature and applied to the determination of total choline in milks. The relative deviation was always < 5%. The repeatability of the method developed was assessed by calculation of the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 12 consecutive injections of one sample. The RSD obtained was < 0.6%.     

Determination of free formaldehyde in the presence of donators in cosmetics by HPLC and post-column derivation

Summary The determination of free formaldehyde in the presence of its donators in cosmetic samples by a combination of reversed phase chromatography and post column reaction detection is described. The free formaldehyde is separated on a RP column with water as eluent from interfering formaldehyde-containing compounds and consecutively determined by the lutidine method in a reaction detector with knitted open tubes. With detection in the visible (420nm) the minimum detectable quantity is 40 ppb, with fluorimetric detection 15 ppb. The sample clean-up procedure for cosmetic products ranging from mascara to shampoo is by extracting the formaldehyde with water of pH 3, where the decomposition rate of the donators is minimal. Smaller amounts of free formaldehyde are always found compared to the standard lutidine method.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence determination of formaldehyde in water

A modification of the Trautz-Schorigin reaction into a flow-injection analysis configuration is described. Different approaches were used at the optimization of chemiluminescence determination of formaldehyde in water based on the reaction of formaldehyde, gallic acid and hydrogen peroxide in an alkaline solution. Detection system with a 218 μl chemiluminescence cell was optimized by both a one-variable-at-a-time method, and a modified simplex method. A calibration graph is linear in the concentration range 4 × 10⁻⁸ to 1 × 10⁻⁵ M HCHO. The detection limit of formaldehyde for a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 is 4 × 10⁻⁸ M. The relative standard deviations for 15 repeated measurements of 1 × 10⁻⁶ and 5 × 10⁻⁶ mol l⁻¹ HCHO are 4.32 and 3.33%, respectively. The analysis time is 1.5 min. The method was applied to the determination of formaldehyde in urban rainwater. A comparison of results found by proposed method with those obtained by fluorimetric reference method provided a good agreement.     

Spectrophotometric determination of formaldehyde by using formaldehyde dehydrogenase

A new method for the determination of formaldehyde by using formaldehyde dehydrogenase is described. The method is based on the quantitative oxidation of formaldehyde with oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), in the presence of formaldehyde dehydrogenase, to form the reduced dinucleotide (NADH). This enzyme does not require glutathione as a co-factor and the NADH produced, which is directly proportional to the concentration of formaldehyde in the assay solution, is then measured spectrophotometrically at 340 nm. Formaldehyde can be determined in the range 0.3–8.0 μg ml^?1 (1.0×10^?5–2.7× 10^?4 M) with a sensitivity of 0.216 absorbance/ μg ml^?1 (0.0065 absorbance/μM). Optimal conditions and the selectivity of this enzyme toward formaldehyde are described.     

Simultaneous determination of formaldehyde and methanol by flow-injection catalytic spectrophotometry

A flow-injection method is proposed for the simultaneous catalytic determination of formaldehyde and methanol on the basis of the catalytic action of formaldehyde upon the redox reaction between crystal violet and potassium bromate in a phosphoric acid medium and on-line oxidization of methanol into formaldehyde using a lead dioxide solid-phase reactor. The indicator reaction is monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in the absorbance of crystal violet at the maximum absorption wavelength of 610 nm. A technique based on three sampling loops with a single injection valve is developed. The flow-injection system produces a signal of main peak with two shoulders of the same height. The height of the shoulders corresponds to the formaldehyde concentration, and the height difference between the shoulders and the main peak corresponds to the methanol concentration. The detection limit is 0.1 μg/mL for formaldehyde and 1.0 μg/mL for methanol with the sampling rate of 10 samples per hour. The relative standard deviations for 11 replicate determinations of formaldehyde (1.0 μg/mL) and methanol (10 μg/mL) are 1.1 and 2.1%, respectively. The method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of formaldehyde and methanol in some gas samples. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Sensitive fluorimetric determination of formaldehyde by the co-quenching effect of formaldehyde and sulfite on the fluorescence of tetra-substituted amino aluminium phthalocyanine

A novel and sensitive fluorimetric method was developed for the determination of formaldehyde based on the co-quenching effect of formaldehyde and sulfite on the fluorescence of tetra-substituted amino aluminium phthalocyanine. Formaldehyde in the concentration range 0.040-1.19 micrograms ml-1 can be determined with a limit of detection of 7.5 ng ml-1. The relative standard deviation for nine replicate measurements of 80.0 ng ml-1 formaldehyde is 1.8%. The method was applied to the analysis of real samples with satisfactory results.     

Catalytic-kinetic determination of trace amount of formaldehyde by the spectrophotometric method with a bromate-Janus green system

A new simple and rapid catalytic kinetic method for the determination of trace amount of formaldehyde is described. The method is based on the catalytic effect of formaldehyde on the oxidation of Janus green by bromate in the present of sulfuric acid. The reaction monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of the reaction mixture at 618 nm. The fixed-time method was used for the first 150 s. For initiation of the reaction, under the optimum conditions, in the concentration range of 0.003-2.5 microg ml(-1) formaldehyde can be determined with a limit of detection 0.0015 microg ml(-1). The relative standard deviation of five replicate measurements is 2.3% for 1.0 microg ml(-1) of formaldehyde. The method was used for the determination of formaldehyde in real samples with satisfactory results.     

Gas chromatographic method to determine formaldehyde traces in automobile exhaust gases

Summary A method for the gas chromatographic determination of traces of formaldehyde is described. The formaldehyde is detected by means of a modified FID which contains a microreactor inside the jet for the hydrogenation of formaldehyde to methane. Only a slight modification to an ordinary FID is needed with no additional gas tubes and no alteration to the existing detector heater. The additional dead volume and peak broadening is negligible. The system is calibrated by means of a gas generator. The described method is used for determining the content of formaldehyde in the exhaust gases of methanol-driven cars.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. István Halász on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday.     

Determination of ammonium in Kjeldahl digests by gas-diffusion flow-injection analysis with a bulk acoustic wave-impedance sensor

A novel flow-injection analysis (FIA) system has been developed for the rapid and direct determination of ammonium in Kjeldahl digests. The method is based on diffusion of ammonia across a PTFE gas-permeable membrane from an alkaline (NaOH/EDTA) stream into a stream of diluted boric acid. The trapped ammonium in the acceptor is determined on line by a bulk acoustic wave (BAW)-impedance sensor and the signal is proportional to the ammonium concentration present in the digests. The proposed system exhibits a favorable frequency response to 5.0 x 10(-6)-4.0 x 10(-3) mol l(-1) ammonium with a detection limit of 1.0 x 10(-6) mol l(-1), and the precision was better than 1% (RSD) for 0.025-1.0 mM ammonium at a through-put of 45-50 samples h(-1). Results obtained for nitrogen determination in amino acids and for proteins determination in blood products are in good agreement with those obtained by the conventional distillation/titration method, respectively. The effects of composition of acceptor stream, cell constant of conductivity electrode, sample volume, flow rates and potential interferents on the FIA signals were discussed in detail.