Detection of formaldehyde in food samples by enhanced chemiluminescence

In this study{,} chemiluminescence (CL) from oxidation of formaldehyde and luminol was investigated under alkaline conditions to develop a sensitive analytical tool for formaldehyde detection. The developed method was successfully applied for detection of formaldehyde in spiked soft drinks{,} wine{,} and raw fish storing solution. CL enhancement by optimized conditions of luminol{,} urea-H2O2{,} pH{,} and sequence of addition was investigated{,} which was not explored previously. The limit of detection was 10 pg ml-1 and linear range 10 pg ml-1 to 100 [small mu ]g ml-1 with a regression coefficient of R2 = 0.998. The importance of these experimental parameters is discussed based on knowledge of oxidation of luminol by urea-H2O2 and further enhancement of CL by formaldehyde oxidation. Formaldehyde was spiked and recovered with 95-99.9%. The results obtained were compared with those of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and were well correlated.