Chinese Scientists Have Developed A Rapid method for Detecting Short-Chain Amines

Chinese scientists from the Department of Chemistry at Fudan University (Shanghai, China) have developed a rapid method for the detection and analysis of short-chain amines in streams and rivers using a portable GC. The method requires derivatisation of the amines followed by their extraction but all of these operations can be performed in the field. Chunhui Deng, Huaquing Lin and Xiangmin Zhang optimised the method using solutions of standard compounds. The derivatising agent, pentafluorobenzaldehyde, was added directly to the sample solution and reaction was complete within five min. The pentafluorobenzylimines formed were extracted by SPME and the fiber was inserted directly into the injection port of a commercial, portable GC system with a micro-flame ionisation detector.

The whole analytical procedure took just 22 minutes for each sample and its appeal lies in the operational simplicity. All that is required apart from the GC is a sample vial, the reagent solution, a magnetic stirrer and an SPME fibre. No organic solvents are involved. One sample can be analysed in the GC while the next is being derivatised, so it would be possible to process a good number of samples in one day at particular site.