A new LC-MS/MS method for fast determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places

In China, air pollution is getting worse, and the adverse effect of formaldehyde on human health has been attracting more and more attention. The present work proposes a novel, fast and sensitive analytical method for the determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places. This method was based on the determination of the 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH)–formaldehyde condensation product of the derivatization between formaldehyde and MBTH. The actual formaldehyde concentration in air was determined by leading the test atmosphere through a bubble absorption tube containing the MBTH absorption solution and subsequent liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Recoveries of spiked formaldehyde samples were in the range of 92.2–106% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 5.0%. The limit of detection (LOD) of formaldehyde in air samples was 0.05 μg m−3, which was much lower than that of the state standard method of China for the determination of formaldehyde in the air of public places (5.6 μg m−3). The satisfactory validation results and the application to the analysis of formaldehyde in the air of a hotel and subway station demonstrated the applicability to air quality monitoring analysis.