Thermo: Separate Targeted Carbonyl Compounds in Less Than 10 Minutes

Thermo Fisher Scientific has developed efficient high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods combined with ultraviolet detection to determine carbonyl compounds found in vehicle passenger cabin air samples. Application Note 1056: Determination of Carbonyl Compounds in Vehicle Cabin Compartments demonstrates that all 13 carbonyl compounds specified in California Air Resources Board Method No. 1004, International Organization for Standardization 16000-3:2011, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Compendium Method TO-11A, and the Chinese HJ/T 400-2007 are derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and well separated on a reversed-phase column in less than 10 minutes.

Many carbonyl compounds are known to cause adverse effects on human health and thus have been listed by the U.S. EPA in the Health Effects Notebook for Hazardous Air Pollutants. People are subject to toxic exposure during the manufacture of these carbonyl compounds, which are widely used in large quantities in automotive manufacturing. Carbonyl compounds can also be hazardous to driver and passenger health through the release of these compounds into vehicle cabin compartments. People in modern society now spend more time in vehicles due to lengthy commutes, long-distance travel, and frequent traffic jams. There are limits for the amounts of the carbonyl compounds that can be in the cabin compartment of a new automobile. Therefore, it is important to establish effective methods for the determination of these compounds found in the air inside vehicle cabins.

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