Poly(allylamine) beads as selective sorbent for preconcentration of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis

Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in water were determined by preconcentration with poly(allylamine) beads, derivatization with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DPH) and analysis by HPLC. Poly(allylamine) beads (0.5 g) were used to adsorb formaldehyde and acetaldehyde at 1.2–150 μg l−1 and 3.5–220 μg l−1 from water (1 l). The concentration factor is 50 fold. The aldehydes were eluted and derivatized with 2 mM DPH in 0.5 M H2SO4 (10 ml). The time of analysis was 1 h. The detection limits (S/N=3) for formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were 0.6 and 2 μg 1−1, respectively.