Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils. Part 2: chromatographic optimization for the analysis of migrants from food packaging material

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oil or fat is a convenient sample preparation technique for the analysis of solutes in lipids or extracts from fatty foods. The injector temperature is selected to vaporize the solutes of interest while minimizing evaporation of the bulk material of the oil. This technique has been in routine use for pesticides for some time. Now its potential is explored for migrants from food contact materials, such as packaging, into simulant D (olive oil) or fatty/oily food, which means extending the range of application towards less volatile compounds. The performance for high boiling components was investigated for diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diundecyl phthalate (DUP). Since the injector temperature needs to be as high as 260degreesC, some bulk material of the oil enters the column and must be removed after every analysis. This is achieved by a coated precolumn backflushed towards the end of each analysis. Desorption of the solutes is particularly efficient in the initial phase, when a thin sample film is spread on the liner wall, and is largely determined by the diffusion speed in the oil after the latter has contracted to droplets. An increased carrier gas flow rate during the splitless period supports the transfer into the column. It is concluded that the technique is attractive for migrant analysis, with DUP being at the upper limit of the boiling point.     

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils performed by programmed temperature vaporizing (PTV) injection

Injector-internal thermal desorption is a promising technique for the analysis of a wide range of food components (e.g., flavors) or food contaminants (e.g., solvent residues, pesticides, or migrants from packaging materials) in edible oils and fats or fatty food extracts. Separation from the fatty matrix occurs during injection. Using programmed temperature vaporizing (PTV) injection, the oily sample or sample extract was deposited on a small pack of glass wool from which the components of interest were evaporated and transferred into the column in splitless mode, leaving behind the bulk of the matrix. Towards the end of the analysis, the oil was removed by heating out the injector and backflushing the precolumn. The optimization dealt with the gas supply configuration enabling backflush, the injector temperature program (sample deposition, desorption, and heating out), separation of the sample liquid from the syringe needle and positioning it on a support, deactivation of the support surface, holding the plug of fused silica wool by a steel wire, and the analytical sequence maintaining adsorptivity at the desorption site low. It was performed for a mixture of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) plasticizers in oil or fatty food. Using MS in SIM, the detection limit was below 0.1 mg/kg for plasticizers forming single peaks and 1 mg/kg for mixtures like diisodecyl phthalate. For plasticizers, RSDs of the concentrations were below 10%; for the slip agents, oleamide and erucamide, it was 12%. The method of incorporating PTV injection was used for about one year for determining the migration from the gaskets of lids for glass jars into oily foods.     

Sample evaporation in conventional split/splitless GC injectors. Part 3: Retaining the liquid in the vaporizing chamber

As most sample liquids tend to pass through an empty injector insert at a speed which is too high to enable complete evaporation, movement of the liquid must be arrested before it reaches the column entrance. Stopping the liquid means deposition on to a surface; this, however, is possible only after the temperature of the surface has been cooled to (or below) the boiling point of the liquid (solvent). The performance of different means of stopping the liquid has been tested visually (by the method described in Part 2). Baffles on the wall of the injector insert had hardly any effect on evaporation: the band of liquid leaving the syringe needle performed a perfect slalorn around them. The inverted cup proved more efficient, but the best performance was obtained from a light plug of glass wool: owing to its low thermal mass, the first fibers to be met by the liquid are immediately cooled to the solvent boiling point, allowing the liquid to wet it. The sample liquid is sucked up by the glass wool, from where the sample evaporates relatively slowly, often over a period of several seconds.     

Splitless injection of up to hundreds of microliters of liquid samples in capillary GC: Part 1, concept

If a sample evaporates by flash vaporization in an empty injector insert, the solute material is well mixed with the expanding solvent vapors and the maximum injection volume is determined by the requirement that no vapors must leave the vaporizing chamber. If evaporation occurs from a surface (e.g., of Tenax packing), however, the solvent evaporates first. The site of evaporation is cooled to the solvent's boiling point, and the cool island formed in the hot injector retains solutes of at least intermediate boiling point (visually observed for perylene). Solvent vapors, free from such solutes, may now expand backwards from the injector insert and leave through the septum purge exit. When solvent evaporation is complete, the site of evaporation warms up, causing the high boiling solutes to evaporate and to be carried into the column by the carrier gas. The technique somewhat resembles PTV injection, but is performed using a classical vaporizing injector.     

Pitfalls in drying oils identification in art objects by gas chromatography

Drying oils identification in art objects is an important step in the scientific investigation of the artifact which provides conservators and art historians with valuable information concerning materials used and painting techniques applied. The present communication is devoted to pitfalls and troubleshooting in drying oils identification by means of GC-MS analysis of fatty acids composition in a microsample of an art object. We demonstrate that in the case of nonlinear instrument response the ratios of palmitic to stearic (P/S), distinctive for each oil type and used for drying oil identification, depend on sample dilution so that different dilutions of the same sample can give different P/S ratios. This phenomenon can hinder drying oil identification and lead to erroneous interpretations. This is an important observation as nowadays very often the P/S ratio is calculated from the corresponding peak area ratios or by the use of one-point calibration method. In these approaches, the linearity of the instrument response is not controlled and ensured. In the case analyzed, the nonlinear instrument response was attributed to incomplete sample evaporation in the injector. Packing of the glass liner with deactivated glass wool improved the sample evaporation and ensured the linearity of the instrument response and independence of the P/S ratio from sample dilution.     

Large volume splitless injection with concurrent solvent recondensation: keeping the sample in place in the hot vaporizing chamber

An injector liner packed with a plug of glass wool is compared with a laminar and a mini laminar liner for large volume (20-50 microL) splitless injection with concurrent solvent recondensation (CSR-LV splitless injection). Videos from experiments with perylene solutions injected into imitation injectors show that glass wool perfectly arrested the sample liquid and kept it in place until the solvent had evaporated. The sample must be transferred from the needle to the glass wool as a band, avoiding 'thermospraying' by partial solvent evaporation inside the needle. The liquid contacted the liner wall when the band was directed towards it, but from there it was largely diverted to the glass wool. In the laminar liners, part of the liquid remained and evaporated at the entrance of the obstacle, while the other proceeded to the center cavity. Vapors formed in the center cavity drove liquid from the entrance of the obstacle upwards, but the importance of such problems could not be verified in the real injector. Some liquid split into small droplets broke through the obstacle and entered the column. Breakthrough through the laminar liners was confirmed by a chromatographic experiment. An improved design of a laminar liner for large volume injection is discussed as a promising alternative if glass wool causes problems originating from insufficient inertness.     

Glass wool in the inserts of split injectors for capillary GC?

It has been reported that glass wool packed tightly into the glass liner of a vaporizing injector used in the splitting mode considerably reduces the standard deviation of the results obtained, because of improved evaporation of the sample prior to reaching the split point at the capillary column entrance. This finding could not be reproduced on using the same sample composition as reported in the literature, i.e. methanol/2-ethyl-1-hexanol (1:1). The standard deviations obtained were between 3 and 10% (depending on the conditions selected) and were not influenced significantly by the introduction of glass wool. The peak area ratio (methanol/2-ethyl-1-hexanol) was found to depend on a number of parameters, such as: injector temperature; glass liner internal diameter; syringe handling technique; the relative position of the syringe needle exit and capillary column entrance; the sample volume injected; and the packing of the glass liner. Generally, the area ratio deviated further from the correct one (determined by cold on-column sampling) when the glass liner was packed with glass wool. On the basis of the results, it is speculated that either a complete evaporation of the sample should be achieved (which appears to be impossible under the conditions we used) or, alternatively, the sample should be given the least possible opportunity to evaporate, thus allowing it to enter the column in the form of droplets. The results were worse in terms of precision and accuracy the greater the partition of sample components between the liquid (droplet) and vapor phase. It is concluded that the use of evaporation aids such as glass wool cannot be generally recommended.     

Inserts providing complete sample evaporation above the column entrance in vaporizing GC injectors

Completeness of sample evaporation in conventional vaporizing injection is a problem for many samples and calls for measures to arrest the sample liquid in the space between the needle exit and the column entrance. A visual testing procedure reveals that a small plug of loose glass or quartz wool ensures complete evaporation in all instances. Obstacles built into the liner also stop liquid, provided they force the sample to pass through narrow channels. Other important design characteristics concern access to the narrow channel. Evaporation in a packed insert usually occurs from a surface, whereas the sample hardly touches surfaces in the instance of an insert with obstacles. Evaporation from a packing is, in fact, more reliable, but creates more problems concerning inertness.     

Sample evaporation in conventional split/splitless GC injectors: Part 2: Use of perylene for visual observation of three different scenarios in empty injector inserts

Perylene is strongly fluorescent as long as it is in solution. This has enabled visual observation of non-evaporated sample material in a “transparent injector”, i.e. in a heated glass device imitating a conventional vaporizing injector. Three scenarios of sample evaporation are described. Some samples (solvents) are nebulized and “flash evaporated” in the gas phase between the needle exit and the column entrance (Scenario 1). With most solvents, the liquid leaves the syringe needle as a thin jet which rushes through both the empty vaporizing chamber and the split outlet at high velocity, often without substantial evaporation. It does not touch the surfaces of the insert and passes round the bend at the bottom of the device without any problem (Scenario 2). Some samples are splashed on to the insert wall, wet it, and evaporate rather slowly from this surface (Scenario 3).     

Concurrent solvent recondensation large sample volume splitless injection

Concurrent Solvent Recondensation Large Sample Volume (CRS‐LV) splitless injection overcomes the limitation of the maximum sample volume to 1–2 μL valid for classical splitless injection. It is based on control of the evaporation rate in the vaporizing chamber, utilization of a strong pressure increase in the injector resulting from solvent evaporation, and greatly accelerated transfer of the sample vapors from the injector into the inlet of an uncoated precolumn by recondensation of the solvent. The sample vapors are transferred into the column as rapidly as they are formed in the injector (concurrent transfer). 20–50 μL of liquid sample is injected with liquid band formation. The sample liquid is received by a small packing of deactivated glass wool positioned slightly above the column entrance at the bottom of the vaporizing chamber. Solvent evaporation strongly increases the pressure in the injector (auto pressure surge), provided the septum purge outlet is closed and the accessible volumes around the vaporizing chamber are small, driving the first vapors into the precolumn. Transfer continues to be fast because of recondensation of the solvent, obtained by keeping the oven temperature below the pressure‐corrected solvent boiling point. The uncoated precolumn must have sufficient capacity to retain most of the sample as a liquid. The experimental data show virtually complete absence of discrimination of volatile or high boiling components as well as high reproducibility.     

Trace analysis of complex organic mixtures using capillary gas-liquid chromatography and the dynamic solvent effect

A sampling system for high resolution gas-liquid chromatography, based on the dynamic solvent effect, is described. Volatiles are accumulated off-line in a concentrator/injector and delivered to the column using an on-line inlet. Volatiles may be accumulated from gaseous or liquid matrices; they may be transferred to these by gas sparging or solvent extraction of any type of sample. The sampling technique is quantitatively precise; e.g. coefficients of variation of peak percentage areas better than 5% for a range of solutes at a concentration of 2:10⁷. Examples of the application of the sampling system are presented.     

The influence of the syringe needle on the precision and accuracy of vaporizing GC injections

The discrimination of the high boiling components of a C9 to C44 alkane test mixture in a vaporizing injector (analysed with stream splitting on a capillary column) is mainly due to a selective elution of the sample out of the syringe needle. Different methods of handling the syringe needle are tested. The discrimination is quantitated and correlated with the material left in the needle. The poorest method of injection was found to retain the sample in the needle when the latter is introduced into the vaporizer. The sample should be pulled back into the barrel of the syringe and the needle allowed to warm up in the injector before the sample is transferred into it. The solvent flush technique may be preferred for components sensitive to the hot metal surface of the needle.     

Comparison of different injection modes in edible oil minor components analysis

Waxes and fatty acid alkyl esters are minor components used as official parameters to control the authenticity and quality of a high‐value olive oil product. A poor measurement can lead to a misleading classification of the oil. The official method requires their analysis together by capillary gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector and an on‐column injector to avoid discrimination and thermal degradation. The degradation can occur to a different extent if different (and not properly optimized) injectors are used. However, other injection techniques, such as programmed‐temperature vaporizer, are much more versatile and more widespread. The aim of the present work was to compare the performance of a programmed‐temperature vaporizer injector, in on‐column and splitless mode, with the on‐column injector to analyze alkyl esters and waxes. Discrimination among high‐boiling compounds was evaluated, as well as the occurrence of thermal degradation, especially of sterols and diterpene alcohol (phytyl and geranylgeraniol) esters. A proper optimization of a programmed‐temperature vaporizer injection, with particular attention to the liner selection, was proven to provide comparable results to the traditional on‐column injection. A performance comparison was carried out both on standard mixtures and on real oil samples.     

热解吸调制,顶空—毛细管气相色谱法测定二元液系的活度系数

本文采用热解吸调制器作毛细管气相色谱直接顶空进样测定二元液体混合物苯－甲苯和丙酮－氯仿的活度系数。热解吸调制器是在毛细管柱前端的一段短的加热段。调制器段外部镀以一薄层导电膜。所体样品连续不断地流经调制器和毛细管柱。     

Splitless injection of up to hundreds of microliters of liquid samples in capillary GC: Part II,experimental results

Sample evaporation in splitless injection of large volumes is rapid: depending on the experiment, results indicate that 200 μl of hexane, for instance, evaporates in 2–10 s, producing vapor at a rate of many hundreds of milliliters per minute. A 60 × 4 mm packed bed of 20–35 mesh Tenax TA enabled injection of 200 μl volumes of all solvents tested, and even 1 ml injections were possible provided they were performed over a period of 30 s. Retention of volatile sample components depends on the sample solvent, the injection volume, and the injection speed, but only little on the injector temperature. Losses of n-tridecane varied from hardly 15 % (when dissolved in pentane) to ca 60 % (ethyl acetate); losses of n-heptadecane were usually below 20 %. The column temperature during injection should be at least ca 20–30°C above the standard solvent boiling point.     

Development of a novel high volume band compression injector for the analysis of complex samples like toxaphene pesticide

A new type of injector has been developed for gas chromatographic analysis. The injector has high volume and band compression (HVBC) capabilities useful for the analysis of complex samples. The injector consists essentially of a packed liner operated at room temperature while a narrow heated zone is used to axially scan the liner selectively desorbing the compounds of interest. The scanning speed, distance and temperature of the zone are precisely controlled. The liner is connected to an interface which can vent the solvent or any undesirable compounds, and transfer the analytes to an analytical column for separation and quantification. The injector is designed to be compatible with injection volumes from 1 to more than 250microL. At a low sample volume of 1microL, the injector has competitive performances compared to those of the "on-column" and "split/splitless" injectors for the fatty acid methyl esters and toxaphene compounds tested. For higher volumes, the system produces a linear response according to the injected volume. In this explorative study, the maximum volume injected seems to be limited by the saturation of the chromatographic system instead of being defined by the design of the injector. The HVBC injector can also be used to conduct "in situ" pretreatment of the sample before its transfer to the analytical column. For instance, a toxaphene sample was successively fractionated, using the HVBC injector, in six sub-fractions characterized by simpler chromatograms than the chromatogram of the original mixture. Finally, the ability of the HVBC injector to "freeze" the separation in time allowing the analyst to complete the analysis at a later time is also discussed.     

Molecular dynamic simulation of platinum heater and associated nano-scale liquid argon film evaporation and colloidal adsorption characteristics

A novel 'fluid-wall thermal equilibrium model' for the wall-fluid heat transfer boundary condition has been developed in this paper to capture the nano-scale physics of transient phase transition of a thin liquid argon film on a heated platinum surface and the eventual colloidal adsorption phenomenon as the evaporation is diminishing using molecular dynamics. The objective of this work is to provide microscopic characterizations of the dynamic thermal energy transport mechanisms during the liquid film evaporation and also the resulting non-evaporable colloidal adsorbed liquid layer at the end of the evaporation process. A nanochannel is constructed of platinum (Pt) wall atoms with argon as the working fluid. The proposed model is validated by heating liquid argon between two Pt walls and comparing the thermal conductivity and change in internal energy to thermodynamic properties of argon. Later on, phase change process is studied by simulating evaporation of a thin liquid argon film on a Pt wall using the proposed model. Gradual evaporation of the liquid film occurs although the film does not vaporize completely. An ultra-thin layer of liquid argon is noticed to have "adsorbed" on the platinum surface. An analysis similar to the theoretical study by Hamaker (1937) is performed for the non-evaporating film and the value of the Hamaker-type constant falls in the typical range. This analysis is done to quantify the non-evaporating film with an attempt to use molecular dynamics simulation results in continuum mechanics.     

Concurrent solvent evaporation for on-line coupled HPLC-HRGC

A technique is proposed which allows introduction of very large volumes of liquid (10 ml were tested) into capillary columns equipped with short (1–2 m long) retention gaps. It is based on concurrent solvent evaporation, i.e. evaporation of the solvent during introduction of the sample. The technique presupposes high carrier gas flow rates (at least during sample introduction) and column temperatures near the solvent boiling point. The major limitation of the method is the occurrence of peak broadening for solutes eluted up to 30°, in some cases up to 100°, above the injection temperature. This is due to the absence of solvent trapping and a reduced efficiency of phase soaking. Therefore, use of volatile solvents is often advantageous. Application of the concurrent solvent evaporation technique allows introduction of liquids which do not wet the retention gap surface. However, the method is still not very attractive for analysis of aqueous or water-containing solutions (reversed phase HPLC).     

Capillary electromigration methods for fatty acids determination in vegetable and marine oils: A review

Fatty acids determination is of paramount importance for quality control and suitable labeling of edible oils, required by regulatory agencies in several countries, and fast methods for this determination are worldly desired. This review article aimed to explore the available analytical methods for vegetable and marine oils analyses employing CE, which can be a straightforward and faster alternative than GC methods for fatty acid determination, considering some purposes. CE usually offers the possibility of a rapid analysis with a simple preparation of the sample, without requiring specific columns, which are inherent advantages of the technique. Instrumental conditions and the key points about fatty acids determination employing the technique are highlighted, and the main challenges and perspectives are also approached. Potential use of CE for edible oil analyses has been demonstrated for research and routine, which can be of interest for industries, regulatory agencies, and edible oil researchers. Therefore, we have explored the analytical approaches described in the last decades, intending to spread the interest of CE methods for fatty acid monitoring, label accuracy assessment, and food authenticity evaluation of edible oils.