A New Method for the Measurement of Airborne Formaldehyde Using Derivatization with 3,5-Bis(Trifluoromethyl) Phenylhydrazine and Analysis by GC-ECD and GC-MS/SIM

Abstract

A new method was developed and described for the measurement of airborne formaldehyde using derivatization with 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylhydrazine (TFMPH) coated onto silica solid phase extraction cartridges. Analysis by GC-ECD provides a detection limit of 74 ng formaldehyde per sample. A field study was conducted to compare the use of TFMPH to 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) and NIOSH method 3500 (chromotropic acid, CTA). Samples were collected from indoor and outdoor environments known or suspected to contain formaldehyde. Use of TFMPH with GC-ECD analysis correlates well with both methods (R²=0.93, slope=1.07 vs. DNPH; R²=0.99, slope=1.06 vs. CTA). Spiked samples were shown to be stable at least 7 days when stored at –20 °C. Analysis of samples by GC-MS with selected ion monitoring (GC-MS/SIM) also proved feasible. Laboratory and field results show the use of TFMPH to be viable for quantifying airborne formaldehyde in occupational and environmental samples.