Free Formaldehyde Determination Using HPLC

Release of formaldehyde from durable press treated fabrics is a problem for human health and safety because formaldehyde is suspected to be carcinogen. The accuracy of the standard test method for the free formaldehyde determination, Japan Law 112, depends on the formaldehyde content of the sample. The formaldehyde contents below 20 *mg/g cannot be shown to be caused by formaldehyde. The detection of low formaldehyde contents is important particularly in some fields, like children clothing, so the High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used. With different crosslinking reagents finished textile substrates were extracted with water to detect the free formaldehyde by an acetylacetone method. The results obtained by the standard test method, Japan Law 112, where UV/VIS spectrometer was used, were compared with the results obtained by HPLC method where separation was performed on RP C 18 column with water: MeOH as a mobile phase. It was shown that the detection limit and limit of quantification were improved using HPLC method. Concentration range obtained by HPLC method is from 0.3 *mg/g to 3000 *mg/g.