Triterpanes identification

Henderson W., WoUrab V., and Eglinton G. (1969) Identification of steranes and triterpanes from a geological source by capillary gas hquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. In Advances in Organic Geochemistry 1968 (eds. P. A. Schenck and 1. Havenaar). Pergamon, London, pp. 181-207. 

Four isomers of the triterpane suggested that in addition to the less stable 178H,218H hopane isomer, and more stable 17pentacyclic triterpane was present, such as lupane, whose mass spectrum did not differ much from mass spectra of compounds of the hopane series. However, for a more reliable identification of these four triterpanes a more efficient GC separation plus authentic compounds for GC comparison would be necessary. 

Almost always GC-MS has been the chosen tool for identification of alkanes from geological or living sources, and such methods in general are outlined in preceding chapters. More recently, the tandem mass-spectrometric (MS-MS) technique has been applied to the effluent from GC columns and adaptions of the standard GC-MS methods have been applied for the analysis of triterpanes and steranes (C30 compounds and the like) that often occur in petroleum and are valuable geological markers . Supercritical fluid chromatography linked to MS will undoubtedly also become a widely used technique for separation and analysis of petroleum and natural waxes, as will thermospray HPLC-MS methods. 

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