Precolumn derivatization with glyoxal as a new approach to the highly sensitive HPLC-UV determination of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine

A procedure has been developed for the determination of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) based on precolumn derivatization with glyoxal and determination of the produced derivative, mono-1,1-dimethylhydrazone of glyoxal, by reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) with UV detection at 305 nm. It has been demonstrated that the reaction of UDMH with an excess of glyoxal in solution quantitatively yields one stable product within 20 min at 25°C at pH 3.5. To increase the sensitivity of UDMH determination it has been proposed to perform solid-phase extraction preconcentration of the derivative from a 25-mL sample portion on cartridges containing Strata SDB-L polymer adsorbent. The analytical range of UDMH determination in water is 0.5–10000 μg/L or 0.01–20 μg/L using preconcentration. The relative standard deviations of UDMH determination (n = 3) do not exceed 0.12 and 0.25 without and with preconcentration, respectively. The accuracy of UDMH determination is confirmed by the analysis of spiked samples and by RP-HPLC determination with preliminary derivatization with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde as independent method.