Hi,
I've been working on a method to detect low levels of amino ethyl ethylene urea (AEEU, imidazoline-2-one ethyl amine).

So far, I have not had much success at straight injection (chromophore absorbs very slightly at 190nm). I tried making various derivatives using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and naphthylisothiocyanate. I tried converting the cyclized urea to formaldehyde using 2,4-pentanedione. None of these attempts were successful.

Gas chromatography is contraindicated due to the high boiling point (< 300 C) of the material.

If anyone has done any work with this molecule, I would be appreciative if you could let me know what you are doing with it.

Thanks

Dear JM;

If I understand well the structure of this molecule, it has at least one secondary amine group. Have you thought of FMOC derivatization?, this reagent reacts with primary and secondary amines in water solution at high pH. The reactions are usually fast, reaching equilibrium in less than one hour, and the derivatives are stable for several hours. Also, the derivatives cxan be detected by UV or Fluorescence.

Please consult "Derivatization Reactions for HPLC, G.Lunn et al , John Wiley&Sons 1998 pp 309-314.

Good Luck;

Benjamin