Using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of oxygenates in middle distillates I. Determination of the nature of biodiesels blend in diesel fuel

In the current energetic context (increasing consumption of vehicle fuels, greenhouse gas emission etc.) government policies lead to mandatory introduction in fossil fuels of fuels resulting from renewable sources of energy such as biomass. Blending of fatty acid alkyl esters from vegetable oils (also known as biodiesel) with conventional diesel fuel is one of the solutions technologically available; B5 blends (up to 5%w/w esters in fossil fuel) are marketed over Europe. Therefore, for quality control as well as for forensic reasons, it is of major importance to monitor the biodiesel origin (i.e. the fatty acid ester distribution) and its content when it is blend with petroleum diesel. This paper reports a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) method that was developed for the individual quantitation of fatty acid esters in middle distillates matrices. Several first and the second dimension columns have been investigated and their performances to achieve (i) a group type separation of hydrocarbons and (ii) individual identification and quantitation of fatty acid ester blend with diesel are reported and discussed. Finally, comparison of quantitative GC x GC results with reference methods demonstrates the benefits of GC x GC approach which enables fast and reliable individual quantitation of fatty acid esters in one single run. Results show that under developed chromatographic conditions, quantitative group type analysis of hydrocarbons is also possible, meaning that simultaneous quantification of hydrocarbons and fatty acid esters can be achieved in one single run.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with rapid scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry in perfume analysis

Single column gas chromatography (GC) in combination with a flame ionization detector (FID) and/or a mass spectrometer is routinely employed in the determination of perfume profiles. The latter are to be considered medium to highly complex matrices and, as such, can only be partially separated even on long capillaries. Inevitably, several monodimensional peaks are the result of two or more overlapping components, often hindering reliable identification and quantitation. The present investigation is based on the use of a comprehensive GC (GC x GC) method, in vacuum outlet conditions, for the near to complete resolution of a complex perfume sample. A rapid scanning quadrupole mass spectrometry (qMS) system, employed for the assignment of GC x GC peaks, supplied high quality mass spectra. The validity of the three-dimensional (3D) GC x GC-qMS application was measured and compared to that of GC-qMS analysis on the same matrix. Peak identification, in all applications, was achieved through MS spectra library matching and the interactive use of linear retention indices (LRI).     

红景天挥发油的GC／MS／DS和GC／IR／DS研究

红景天挥发油的ＧＣ／ＭＳ／ＤＳ和ＧＣ／ＩＲ／ＤＳ研究阎吉昌，张宏徐少敏卫永弟，阎雪（东北师范大学测试中心，长春，１３００２４）（吉林省石油化工研究院，白求恩医科大学）关键词红景天，色谱／质谱，色谱／红外，复杂有机混合物应用色谱／质谱／计算机（ＧＣ／Ｍ...     

Simultaneous determination of seven phenylethanoid glycosides in Cistanches Herba by a single marker using a new calculation of relative correction factor

Current quantitative analysis of multi‐components by a single marker is usually performed by using liquid chromatography methods coupled with ultraviolet or mass spectrometry detection to afford the relative correction factors between reference standard and other components. However, low durability of the relative correction factors caused by different chromatographic system leading this approach lacking a high accuracy. In the present study, a simple but effective method was established by employing the absorption coefficient () to calculate the relative correction factors instead of peak area or height. The absorption coefficient, a fundamental constant of physics, has been widely used for qualitative and quantitative analysis in Pharmacopoeia all over the world. According to the absorbance coefficient ratio between echinacoside and other compounds, the content of seven phenylethanoid glycosides in Cistanche deserticola and Cistanches tubulosa were determined simultaneously. The low standard method difference on quantitative measurement of seven compounds in Cistanches Herba between our method and the external standard method proved the consistency of the two methods. Using an ultra high performance liquid system, these seven bioactive phenylethanoid glycosides were baseline separated in 8 min. All the data suggested that the method was accurate and reliable for the determination of multi‐components when authentic standard substances were unavailable.     

Quantitation of camphechlor/toxaphene in cod-liver oil by integration of the HRGC/ECD-pattern

Summary Quantitation of camphechlor/toxaphene in biological matrices like cod-liver oil or fish is difficult because it is a very complex mixture of alicyclic polychlorinated compounds. Furthermore, many toxaphene components are biotransformed and photodegraded and the complex mass spectral fragmentation pattern of HRGC/MSD (electron impact (EI)) cannot be used for quantitation at the g/g-level or below. The use of several indicator-peaks after ECD-detection using the technical standard mixture for calibration does not characterize the entire pattern in a biological sample. Two averaging integration methods that are based on the entire HRGC/ECD-pattern of toxaphene compounds after separation from the PCB congeneres by adsorption chromatography on silicagel, allow a fast and accurate quantitation of the mixture in biological samples, e.g. cod-liver oil. Biological degradation does not disturb the determination because the whole pattern of the complex mixture is considered instead of only a few compounds of the parent mixture which could be degraded or not.     

An improved method for determination of light hydrocarbons in stabilized crude oil

Summary This paper reports a quick, and simple method for quantitative determination of C₂ to C₆ hydrocarbons in stabilized crude oil without using a back flush system. A mixture of crude oil and internal standard is injected into a GC equipped with a 6 meter length of fused silica capillary as a guard column. The light hydrocarbons are separated individually up to the last peak of the hexane group with the heavier components trapped in the guard column. The total analysis time for each sample is 15 minutes. The base line is table for up to 15 consecutive analyses. The guard column and the injector port are then reconditioned by simply heating them for one hour at 300 °C.     

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of isobars by tandem mass spectrometry from unresolved chromatographic peaks

A method was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of isobars from unresolved chromatographic peaks. The method is based on differences in branching ratios of ion abundances in their tandem mass spectra and an assumption that the product ion mass spectra of a mixture can be considered as a linear combination of the spectra of individual constituents. We present analytical equations and a matrix-based approach for deconvoluting the concentration of individual components from the total peak intensity for two and three isobars and also a matrix-based generalization to any number of compounds. The feasibility of the simultaneous analysis of mixtures containing two compounds was assessed. The approach was evaluated for the analysis of structural isomers of methylmalonic and succinic acids in human plasma and urine samples for a group of 270 samples. The linear regression equation, standard error and correlation coefficient for the agreement with a traditional method utilizing chromatographic separation of the isomers were y = 0.999x - 0.005, 0.024 micro mol l(-1), and 0.985, respectively. The utility of a spectral contrast angle as a predictor of analysis feasibility was evaluated.     

天然和人工培植红景天挥发油的对比研究

应用ＧＣ－ＭＳ和ＧＣ－ＩＲ两种联机法对比研究了天然和人工培植红景天挥发油、分别鉴定出２７个和２４个化合物。ＭＳ给出结构信息和ＩＲ给出官能团信息相结合，提高了分析测试复杂样品的可靠性。     

Simultaneous determination by GC-MS-SIM of o-, m-, p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3:4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in biological samples using a common selected ion

A GC-MS-SIM method is described for the simultaneous determination of five acid metabolites, o-, m-, and p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3:4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid in biological samples using a common selected ion for all the acids. The TMS ethers of methyl or ethyl esters of these compounds have a common ion at m/e 179 which is used for their quantitation by selected ion monitoring. The molecular ion at m/e 238 of the three monohydroxy phenylacetic acids, which is also the M-30 ion for homovanillic acid, is also used for their quantitation. The GC conditions for their separation, the relative sensitivities and some advantages of TMS ethers over other derivatives are described. The application of this method to biological samples is illustrated by data on human urine and plasma.     

Simplification of determination method for standard materials using post-column reaction GC/FID

For the simple and fast preparation of highly reliable standard materials, a post-column reaction GC/FID system was developed and evaluated on the mixture of oxygen-containing organic compounds. The oxygen-containing organic compounds mixing solution were determined with the post-column reaction GC/FID system using n-dodecane as an internal calibration standard. Required value of relative expanded uncertainty as an original source of SI-traceable standard materials was within 1% and it aimed at this value as accuracy of the quantitative analysis. The results showed good agreement between the prepared concentrations and analytical values using post-column reaction GC/FID system. These results indicated that the post-column reaction GC/FID system would be used for getting SI-traceable values.     

全二维气相色谱/飞行时间质谱用于柴油组成的研究

将全二维气相色谱法(GC×GC)用于柴油馏分的组成分布研究,建立了两种GC×GC方法,一种用于柴油组成的详细表征,另一种用于柴油族组成的快速分离和定量,两种方法均不需要样品预处理。用前一种方法对柴油馏分中的烃类化合物、主要的含硫化合物与含氮化合物组成进行了研究;对催化裂解柴油中的27种含氮化合物和42种含硫化合物进行了定性;用后一种方法在70 min内即可完成柴油馏分族组成的定量分析,应用所建立的方法测定了4个不同来源的柴油馏分中非芳烃、一环芳烃、二环芳烃、三环芳烃的含量,定量结果与ASTM D2425法     

Assessment of limits of detection and quantitation using calculation of uncertainty in a new method for water determination

 An approach to the assessment of the limit of detection and the limit of quantitation using uncertainty calculation is discussed. The approach is based on the known evaluation of the limits of detection and quantitation as concentrations of the analyte equal to three and ten standard deviations of the blank response, respectively. It is shown that these values can be calculated as the analyte concentrations, for which relative expanded uncertainty achieves 66% and 20% of possible results of the analyte determination, correspondingly. For example, the calculation is performed for the validation of a new method for water determination in the presence of ene-diols or thiols, developed for analysis of chemical products, drugs or other materials which are unsuitable for direct Karl Fischer titration. A good conformity between calculated values and experimental validation data is observed. Received: 27 July 1998 · Accepted: 29 November 1998     

Challenge in the speciation of nitrogen-containing compounds in heavy petroleum fractions by high temperature comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Extending the knowledge related to nitrogen-containing compounds presents an important interest for the petroleum industry due to their implication in atmosphere pollution as well as their inhibitive or refractive behaviour towards hydroprocessing. Most of the nitrogenated species are concentrated in heavy petroleum cuts. As no analytical method is resolutive enough for these heavy cuts, particularly regarding nitrogen-containing compounds, a new approach is needed. For this reason, this study focuses on the development of a GC×GC technique, through the hyphenation of a specific NCD detector with a GC×GC system at high temperature. The performances of highly polar thermally stable stationary phases, in particular those composed of promising ionic liquids, were monitored in normal and reversed configurations. Subsequently, after the extraction of neutral or basic compounds by adsorption on an ion-exchange resin, a first quantitative determination was attempted for a straight-run and a direct coal liquefaction vacuum gas oils. This study led to a better understanding of the behaviour of highly aromatic N-compounds by 2D-GC including an ionic liquid phase as well as a deeper N-characterization of heavy petroleum fractions.     

Description of a Method for Automated Determination of Organic Pollutants in Water

Abstract

A method for automated determination of 73 organic pollutants in water is described. The compounds, which are key representatives for different types of pollutants are determined in two chromatographic runs. 11 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons are determined using capillary GC equipped with electron capture detector. The remaining pollutants, representing both basic/neutral and acidic compounds are determined by using GC/MS combined with an automated search computer program. The majority of the compounds have a limit of quantitation at 1 ig/1 or lower. The precision of the GC method is in the range of 1.8% to 4.3%, with an average of 3.2%. The precision for compounds determined by GC/MS is in the range of 1% to 38%, with an average of 14%.

So far 30 water samples representing both polluted fjord areas as well as effluents from municipal treatment plants, refineries, petrochemical industries and metallurgic industries have been analysed. The method has been found to be an interesting alternative to traditional methods for monitoring water quality, and has demonstrated its potential both as a screening method for detecting “hot spots” as well as for routine monitoring of specific hazardous compounds.     

Compositional studies of high-temperature coal tar by GC/FTIR analysis of light oil fractions

Summary A method for determination of the composition of the light oil fractions in high-temperature coal tar by means of distillation, followed by gas chromatography on a crosslinked fused-silica, capillary column coated with optimum amount of stationary phase and identification by capillary gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry combined with GC retention indices (GC/FTIR-RI) is described. This method was effectively used to identify complex mixture such as coal tar without any standard samples, especially, adapted for isomeric compounds. More than 60 and 50 compounds were also separated and identified respectively in light oil fractions. This shows the capability of the capillary GC/FTIR combined with GC retention indices to identify isomers not accomplished by GC/MS.     

Fast gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry with microscale volume sample preparation for the determination of benzodiazepines and alpha-hydroxy metabolites, zaleplon and zopiclone in whole blood

Fast gas chromatography/negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometric (GC/NICI-MS) assay combined with rapid and nonlaborious sample preparation is presented for the simultaneous determination of benzodiazepines and alpha-hydroxy metabolites, zaleplon and zopiclone in whole blood. The compounds were extracted from 100 microl of whole blood by simultaneous multitube, microscale liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and derivatized by N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), without the need for the time-consuming concentration stage. In the analytical separation, various parameters of fast GC/NICI-MS were applied, e.g. the use of hydrogen as a GC carrier gas, a high carrier gas velocity, a small film thickness of the analytical column, fast MS data acquisition, fast temperature ramping, and high initial and final temperatures of GC column. Sensitive identification, screening and quantitation of 18 compounds of interest were achieved in chromatographic separation in only 4.40 min. Accurate and reproducible results were obtained by using five different and carefully selected deuterated analogues on the basis of the chemical properties of the target analytes. Nevertheless, for alpha-OH-midazolam, and for bromazepam and flunitrazepam at low concentrations, the results can be considered only semiquantitative on the basis of the validation data. The extraction efficiencies ranged from 74.3 to 105.7% and the limits of quantitation (LOQ) from 1 to 100 ng ml(-1). Rapid sample preparation and fast chromatographic separation allowed cost-efficient, reliable and high sample-throughput analyses with a low amount of manual work. The method was fully validated and accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 standards and is applicable for sensitive, reliable and quantitative determination of benzodiazepines, zaleplon and zopiclone, e.g. in clinical and forensic toxicology.     

Quantitative Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry--the determination of creatinine by isotope dilution mass spectrometry

Accurate quantitation has been demonstrated on many different types of mass spectrometer. However, quantitative applications of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICRMS) have been limited. In this study, the quantitative potential of FTICRMS has been investigated using an exact matching isotope dilution method for the determination of creatinine in serum. Creatinine is an important clinical biomarker and its measurement is used as an assessment of renal function. The quantitation of creatinine was selected because a high-accuracy high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) determination using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer has already been successfully developed in-house. Therefore, a direct comparison of the quantitative capability of FTICRMS could be made against an established method. The accuracy of the quantitation of creatinine was found to be equivalent to that obtained using LC/MS. However, the expanded measurement uncertainty (k = 2) was larger, at 6%, when using FTICRMS compared with 1% when using HPLC/MS with the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer.     

Measurement of semi-volatile azaarenes in airborne particulate and vapor phase

In the atmosphere, exchanges between the gas and particle phases has a profound influence on the removal processes and residence times of semi-volatile compounds. This study describes analytical procedures for the reliable quantitation of both gas and particle phase azaarenes (two-, three- and four-rings). Samples of particulate material were collected on the glass fiber filters and gas phase material on polyurethane foam plugs. Azaarene compounds were isolated utilizing an acid/base partition method. Isolated azaarenes compounds were then characterized and quantified using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The analytical method described in this paper is the first procedure for the simultaneous determination of gas and particle phase azaarenes and allows 47 azaarene compounds to be reliably quantified despite the complexity of urban aerosols.     

New benchmark for basic and neutral nitrogen compounds speciation in middle distillates using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

This paper reports an analytical method for the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) separation and identification of nitrogen compounds (N-compounds) in middle distillates according to their types (basicity). For the evaluation of the best chromatographic conditions, a non-polar x polar approach was chosen. The impact of the second dimension (stationary phase and column length) on the separation of basic and neutral N-compounds was evaluated by mean of two-dimensional resolution. This study revealed that the implementation of polar secondary column having free electron pairs improves drastically the separation of N-compounds. Indeed, the presence of permanent dipole-permanent dipole interactions between neutral N-compounds and the stationary phase was enlightened. The comparison of two different nitrogen chemiluminescence detectors (NCD) was also evaluated for GC x GC selective monitoring of N-compounds. Owing to higher resolution power and enhanced sensitivity achieved using developed chromatographic and detection conditions, it was possible to identify univocally and to quantitate N-compounds (i) by class of compounds and (ii), within a class, by carbon number. Finally, quantitative comparison of GC x GC-NCD with conventional gas chromatography illustrates the benefits of GC x GC leading to an excellent correlation with results obtained by American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) methods for the determination of basic/neutral nitrogen ratio in diesel samples.     

Determination of sterol and triterpene alcohol acetates in natural products by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A partial separation of nine sterol acetates and seven triterpene alcohol acetates by reversed-phase liquid chromatography is described. Good results are obtained using acetonitrile-water (90:10, v/v) as mobile phase with an UV detector at 205 nm. The variation in sterol sensitivity shows that this technique is not suitable for quantitative analyses. A combination of this technique for the fractionation of the natural sterol mixture, gas-liquid chromatography for quantitation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification is necessary for the determination of sterol compounds contained in natural products. An example of the separation, identification and quantitation of sterol acetates from sunflower seed oil is given.