A new LC-MS/MS method for fast determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places

作者:Zhao, Yong-Gang; Zhang, Yun; Wang, Feng-Lian; Chen, Ning; Lou, Chao-Yan; Zhang, Kai; Jin, Mi-Cong*; Zhu, Yan*
来源:Analytical Methods, 2017, 9(29): 4234-4239.
DOI:10.1039/c7ay00894e

摘要

In China, air pollution is getting worse, and the adverse effect of formaldehyde on human health has been attracting more and more attention. The present work proposes a novel, fast and sensitive analytical method for the determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places. This method was based on the determination of the 3methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH)-formaldehyde condensation product of the derivatization between formaldehyde and MBTH. The actual formaldehyde concentration in air was determined by leading the test atmosphere through a bubble absorption tube containing the MBTH absorption solution and subsequent liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Recoveries of spiked formaldehyde samples were in the range of 92.2-106% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 5.0%. The limit of detection (LOD) of formaldehyde in air samples was 0.05 mu gm(-3), which was much lower than that of the state standard method of China for the determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places (5.6 mu g m(-3)). The satisfactory validation results and the application to the analysis of formaldehyde in the air of a hotel and subway station demonstrated the applicability to air quality monitoring analysis.

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