Nonderivatized

Nonderivatized is an adjective used primarily in chemistry and analytical chemistry to describe a substance, sample, or analyte that has not been modified by derivatization. Derivatization is the chemical modification of a compound to form a derivative that is often more volatile, stable, or detectable by a given analytical method. The choice between analyzing a substance in its native (nonderivatized) form or as a derivative depends on the analytical technique and the properties of the target compound.

In practice, nonderivatized analyses are common when the instrumentation can directly detect the native molecule, or when derivatization would add unnecessary steps, cost, or potential artifacts. However, many compounds—such as highly polar, nonvolatile, or labile species—require derivatization for reliable separation or detection in methods like gas chromatography or fast liquid chromatography. Consequently, nonderivatized methods may have lower sensitivity, poorer chromatographic behavior, or limited applicability for certain analytes.

Examples include amino acids and other biomolecules that may be detected in their nonderivatized form by modern LC-MS, or analyses that rely on direct UV, fluorescence, or MS detection without derivatization. Conversely, GC analyses of many analytes often rely on derivatization to improve volatility and detectability.

Overall, the term highlights whether a processing step has involved chemical modification to produce derivatives, with implications for method design, accuracy, and throughput.