Determination of formaldehyde in the daily living environment using membrane-enhanced water plug coupled extraction following peptide-based greener reaction derivatization

[Display omitted] •A membrane-enhanced extraction coupled with water plug method was developed.•The method was used to determinate formaldehyde in the daily-living environment.•Formaldehyde was derivatized using a peptide-based greener reaction.•MALDI-TOF MS utilization to detect formaldehyde proved feasible. Sample preparation methods based on membrane devices represent alternative strategies for analyte extraction from complex samples. Membrane-based microextraction is useful for concentrating and purifying compounds from matrices that are not clean. Formaldehyde pollution has several toxic effects on humans, including genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and carcinogenesis. Herein, an ultrafiltration device equipped with a water plug coupled membrane to trap formaldehyde and quantify free formaldehyde in daily products (such as tableware and craft materials) was used. Formaldehyde was derivatized using a peptide-based green reaction before detection by mass spectrometry. The linear range for formaldehyde detection was 1–100 μg/mL and the detection limit was 0.25 μg/mL. The recovery was 93–104 % and the relative standard deviation and relative error were below 13.9 % for intra-day and inter-day analyses. Formaldehyde was extracted and concentrated in the water plug from sticky samples, such as adhesive, glue, bond, student’s acrylic paint, and cosmetic products. The proposed method was shown to be suitable for free formaldehyde determination in daily-use products. To avoid formaldehyde overexposure, research must focus on materials frequently used in the home environment.