Determination of trace formaldehyde in blood plasma by resonance fluorescence technology

A novel method for the determination of trace formaldehyde in blood plasma has been established by using resonance fluorimetry technique. It was based on the fact that oxidation of pyronine Y by potassium bromate was catalyzed by formaldehyde in sulfuric acid. When the wavelength interval was at Δλ = 0 nm, it was found that the decreased intensity (ΔF) of resonance fluorescence at 574.6 nm was proportional to the concentration of formaldehyde in the range of 1.27 × 10−2 to 2.28 μg mL−1. The limit of detection and the average recovery for formaldehyde were 3.80 ng mL−1 and 101.6% (n = 6), respectively. The present method had been applied to the determination of trace formaldehyde in blood plasma, and the obtained results were in good agreement with those obtained by the resonance light scattering method.