Analysis of formaldehyde in tobacco smoke by high performance liquid chromatography.

Formaldehyde in tobacco smoke is allowed to react with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to form the dinitrophenylhydrazone. This derivative is extracted with chloroform and concentrated. The residue in methylene chloride is separated and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. A column packed with 10-micron silica is used for separation. The internal standard is triphenylene. This method can also be used for the analysis of other carbonyl compounds in tobacco smoke that react to form hydrazone derivatives.