Tracer-pulse chromatography technique

Earlier treatments of the tracer-pulse chromatography technique can be found in Helfferich and Peterson (39, 40). 

Deuterated tracer pulse chromatography (TPC) was used to characterize the retention behavior of Tenax-GC and four polyimide-based sorbent materials. Deuterated n-hexane, ethanol, 2-butanone, nltromethane, and benzene were used as compounds to probe ive types o chemical Interactions o the compounds with the polymers. Retention properties were Investigated with dry and humidified helium carriers both with and without the Incorporation of non-deuterated test compounds. Analyte competition was shown to occur on all of the sorbents. Humidity affected the retention of the probe compounds on the polyimides to a much greater extent than on Tenax-GC. The technique was shown to elucidate subtle differences In sorbent behavior. 

Recently the radioactive tracer pulse chromatography was used by Barrere and Deans to investigate the absorption reaction of CO2 in liquid diethanolamine (4J). One of the significant contributions to the field of adsorption rate measurement by chromatographic techniques can be found in a recent paper by Padberg and Smith (4Ia). 

Two different implementations of these methods have been developed, the tracer pulse technique (or elution of an isotope on a plateau) and the concentration pulse technique (or elution on a plateau). They are very different in principle although they share much theoretical backgroimd. Only the second one has now any practical applications in liquid chromatography. 

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