diethylene glycol

[WK]

Dear All,
I have googled this to relatively little success:
What would you use to derivatize diethylene glycol in volatile matrix?
I would need to run sample by GC-MS. I found a small reference to TMS.
Does anyone do this routinely? DEG response low without derivatization.
Best Regards
WK

[Consumer Products Guy]

We routinely assay for diethylene glycol here. It will give multiple peaks, usually three, due to its isomers. For as-is, use a polar column such as a PEG type. We more routinely dissolve our samples in DMF, then derivatize with BSTFA reagent (Regis, Pierce, etc.), and use a nonpolar capillary such as DB-5 or DB-1. Derivatized DEG will also deliver multiple peaks (we usually just do peak summation for this. And either GC-FID or GCMS.

[WK]

Thanks for the reply CPG,
Do you get significantly better response with BSTFA?
WK