Determination of metal complexes of ethylenediaminetetraacetate in the presence of organic matter by high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography method is described here for the determination of the Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) complexes of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) in municipal wastewaters and surface waters. The method involves separation by ion-exchange chromatography on a reversed-phase C18 column coated with ion-pair reagent, followed by post-column conversion to FeEDTA− and subsequent detection by UV absorbance. Although Co(II) and Cu(II) coelute, they can be quantified by analyzing absorbance by CuEDTA2− prior to post-column conversion. The method detection limit of 6–8×10−8 M (5–7 ng) is an order of magnitude improvement over previous UV absorbance post-column reaction methods. The technique can be used in the presence of organic matter encountered in matrices such as untreated wastewater without pre-concentration or sample cleanup.