The analysis of airborne aldehydes and ketones first involves collection of the analytes by passing air through a cartridge containing 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). As the air passes through the cartridge, the analytes react with the DNPH to form hydrazones which are immobilized on the cartridge. The cartridges are then eluted with solvent and the DNPH derivatives determined using HPLC with UV detection.
The GERSTEL MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) can be configured with a special tray to hold DNPH cartridges, enabling efficient automation of the entire process of desorbing the analytes and injecting the eluate into the LCUV system. Automating the desorption of these cartridges can signifi cantly improve both accuracy and reproducibility. In addition, the risk of operator error is reduced. The MAESTRO software PrepAhead function enables desorption of a cartridge during the chromatographic separation of the previously injected sample. This means that the next sample is always prepared and ready to be injected as soon as the HPLC system has completed the previous analysis, ensuring maximum sample throughput.
