Uwe,
Do you have any information on actually determining imidurea under HILIC condtions or is this something that looks within the range of target molecules? I have not had much success with HILIC and need more tutoring to become a HILIC user.
Bruce,
I have worked with Hamilton columns and have found all the methods work as described, even if the sensitivity is not a high as we might like sometimes.
I would rather work with either HPLC method since I know I can control sensitivity by sample preparation and control of the sample concentration so long as I don't overload the column. The colorimetric method is designed for low ppm concentrations and appears to be air-sensitive at some stages of the testing. All of this is controlled with an HPLC method.
Does anyone know the chemistry of the colorimtric Nash method for reaction of 2,4-pentanedione with imidurea to determine the midurea? According the technical support people, it is supposed to be forming lutidine, but that isn't consistent with the colorimetric determination of imidurea, since lutidine is not colored adn the method measures the material at 410 nm. It would help know how to improve the precision if we know what we were measuring!
Thanks to both of you for your input. I think we will end up moving this to an HPLC method eventually. It will jsut take more research.