AUTOMATED SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION AND COUPLED-COLUMN REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR THE TRACE-LEVEL DETERMINATION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-MASS CARBONYL-COMPOUNDS IN AIR
Pr. Kootstra et Ha. Herbold, AUTOMATED SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION AND COUPLED-COLUMN REVERSED-PHASE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR THE TRACE-LEVEL DETERMINATION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-MASS CARBONYL-COMPOUNDS IN AIR, Journal of chromatography, 697(1-2), 1995, pp. 203-211
This study reports the development of a coupled-column RPLC method for
the trace level determination of several volatile aldehydes in ambien
t air. Carbonyls in air are sampled using a ozone scrubber and SPE C-1
8 cartridges which are pretreated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone. The
method is used for the separation of 13 different aldehydes and keton
es. All analytes are separated without high blanks or ozone interferen
ces. The analytical detection limits for the most important compounds
formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, 2-propenal (acroleine), 2-butenal (crotona
ldehyde) and benzaldehyde, range from 50 to 150 ng/m(3) (ppt) or 0.5-1
.0 pmol/l, with relative standard deviations of 6%. The sampled air vo
lume was 200 1. Due to the high sensitivity of the method, high purity
solvents must be used. The analytical method as described below, has
high recoveries for all analytes (> 90%) and is fully automated. This
procedure has been applied in a pilot study with 60 air samples.