Determination of Hydroxy-2-ethylenediaminetriacetic Acid (HEEDTA) and Fe-HEEDTA in Nutrient Solutions by Ion-Pair Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography method for the accurate detection and determination of hydroxy-2-ethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEEDTA) and Fe-HEEDTA has been developed. Three mobile phases containing 0.05 M tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, 0.05 M tetrabutylammonium bromide, or 0.05 M tetrabutylammonium bromide + phosphate buffer were employed in this method. Iron was added to each mobile phase after addition of the selected ion pair reagent to determine the amount of HEEDTA in both the free and/or the metal chelated forms at concentrations as low as 50 μM. The method depends on the formation of the iron chelate with HEEDTA in the mobile phase at pH 7. Calculation of the amounts of chelated HEEDTA with iron in the mobile phase was verified using the Geochem-PC computer program, which showed that 99.95% of HEEDTA was chelated to iron at pH 7.