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A novel method has been introduced for the determination of trace amounts of acetaldehyde in medical ethanol based on its inhibition effect on the reaction between piperidine and sodium nitroprussiate. The reaction is monitored by a spectrophotometric technique, measuring a decreasing rate of absorbance at 560 nm during a fixed time of 60 s. The method allows for the determination of acetaldehyde in the range of 2.5–55 ppm. The limit of detection is 0.5 ppm and the relative standard deviation for 16 determinations of 30.0 ppm acetaldehyde is 0.038, while it is 0.173 in the common simple spectrophotometric method. The reliable results make the proposed method applicable to the determination of acetaldehyde in medical ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]