Due to the fact that this agent tends to release formaldehyde intensive efforts were undertaken to introduce non-formaldehyde cross-linking agents, such as polycarboxylic acids (PCA) or glyoxal.
The most interesting PCAs are 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) and citric acid (CA).
Since, to date, no analytical method is available to determine both qualitatively and quantitatively the amount of these cross-linking agents that have reacted with the cellulosic material, isocratic HPLC was applied to evaluate the nonformaldehyde finishing agent linked to the cellulose.
The PCA- or glyoxal finished cotton fabrics were subjected to an alkaline treatment. As a consequence, the cotton-bound PCA was released via an saponification reaction, whereas glyoxal was converted to glycolate via an internal Cannizzaro reaction