Hyphenated gas chromatography

Varieties of Hyphenated Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry... 

VARIETIES OF HYPHENATED GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH MASS SPECTROMETRY... 

The possibiHties for multidimensional iastmmental techniques are endless, and many other candidate components for iaclusion as hyphenated methods are expected to surface as the technology of interfacing is resolved. In addition, ternary systems, such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-iafrared spectrometry (gc/ms/ir), are also commercially available. 

Mixtures can be identified with the help of computer software that subtracts the spectra of pure compounds from that of the sample. For complex mixtures, fractionation may be needed as part of the analysis. Commercial instmments are available that combine ftir, as a detector, with a separation technique such as gas chromatography (gc), high performance Hquid chromatography (hplc), or supercritical fluid chromatography (96,97). Instmments such as gc/ftir are often termed hyphenated instmments (98). Pyrolyzer (99) and thermogravimetric analysis (tga) instmmentation can also be combined with ftir for monitoring pyrolysis and oxidation processes (100) (see Analytical methods, hyphenated instruments). 

Coupling of analytical techniques (detectors) to high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) systems has increased in the last tree decades. Initially, gas chromatography was coupled to mass spectrometry (MS), then to infrai ed (IR) spectroscopy. Following the main interest was to hyphenate analytical techniques to HPLC. 

J. B. Phillips and J. Beens, Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography a hyphenated method with strong coupling between the two dimensions , J. Chromatogr. 856 331-347 (1999). 

The combination of chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) is a subject that has attracted much interest over the last forty years or so. The combination of gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was first reported in 1958 and made available commercially in 1967. Since then, it has become increasingly utilized and is probably the most widely used hyphenated or tandem technique, as such combinations are often known. The acceptance of GC-MS as a routine technique has in no small part been due to the fact that interfaces have been available for both packed and capillary columns which allow the vast majority of compounds amenable to separation by gas chromatography to be transferred efficiently to the mass spectrometer. Compounds amenable to analysis by GC need to be both volatile, at the temperatures used to achieve separation, and thermally stable, i.e. the same requirements needed to produce mass spectra from an analyte using either electron (El) or chemical ionization (Cl) (see Chapter 3). In simple terms, therefore, virtually all compounds that pass through a GC column can be ionized and the full analytical capabilities of the mass spectrometer utilized. 

The spectrum of new analytical techniques includes superior separation techniques and sophisticated detection methods. Most of the novel instruments are hyphenated, where the separation and detection elements are combined, allowing efficient use of materials sometimes available only in minute quantities. The hyphenated techniques also significantly increase the information content of the analysis. Recent developments in separation sciences are directed towards micro-analytical techniques, including capillary gas chromatography, microbore high performance liquid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis. 

Gas chromatography is a most favourable case for interfacing to a mass spectrometer, as the mobile phases commonly used do not generally influence the spectra observed, and the sample, being in the vapour phase, is compatible with the widest range of mass-spectral ionisation techniques. The primary incompatibility in the case of GC-MS is the difference in operating pressure for the two hyphenated instruments. The column outlet in GC is typically at atmospheric pressure, while source pressures in the mass spectrometer range from 2 to... 

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