Determination of sulfur anions by ion chromatography–postcolumn derivation and UV detection

A novel method for determination of formaldehyde sulfoxylate, sulfite, thiocyanate, and thiosulfate in foodstuffs by ion chromatography separation with postcolumn derivation and UV detection has been developed. All species are separated at Dionex IonPac AG22A and AS22A with mobile phase of a mixture of 4.5 mmol/L sodium carbonate and 0.8 mmol/L sodium bicarbonate at a flow-rate of 1.0 mL/min. The postcolumn derivation solution was 0.24% iodine in 0.2% phosphate acid and the detection wavelength was set at 288 nm. The detection limits (LOD, signal-to-noise ratio of 3) of formaldehyde sulfoxylate, sulfite, thiocyanate, and thiosulfate were 0.004, 0.006, 0.006, and 0.007 mg/L, respectively. Within-day relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 10) of formaldehyde sulfoxylate, sulfite, thiocyanate, and thiosulfate were 3.24%, 3.76%, 2.68%, and 2.07%, respectively. The recoveries of the four anions were in the range of 67.2–116.5%.