Two-dimensional gas chromatography for determination of volatile compounds in ambient air

A two-dimensional gas chromatograph is described for the analysis of volatile compounds. The chromatographic system consists of two separate chromatographs linked together with an interface containing an intermediate trap. The trap is cooled with nitrogen (?150°C) and a cryogradient is created inside the trap enclosure. The sample is reinjected during controlled (chromatographic) conditions, using thermostated air. The sample components are eluted from the trap as narrow symmetrical peaks; the shape and width of the peaks eluted do not noticeably affect the subsequent chromatography. The enrichment of n-butane in the trap is quantitative in the range 10^?10 – 10^?5 g.     

On-site environmental analysis by membrane extraction with a sorbent interface combined with a portable gas chromatograph system

A novel device, membrane extraction with a sorbent interface (MESI) coupled with a portable gas chromatograph (GC) system, has been developed. The main components of this system include a membrane module, a microtrap, and a control unit for the heater and cooler. The membrane module, as an on-line sample-introduction device for this system, can be manipulated in different configurations, allowing for the selective permeation of analytes across the membrane into the carrier/stripping gas. The analytes are trapped and concentrated onto a microtrap, which serves as an injector for gas chromatography separation. A concentration pulse of the trapped analytes is generated through direct electrical heating of the microtrap. The characteristics of this system have been explored, and its applicability and effectiveness have been demonstrated in field monitoring applications including the analysis of toluene in wastewater, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in laboratory air, and chloroform in swimming-pool water. This system is very promising, as it is a simple, fast, and portable tool for on-site process environmental monitoring.     

Eavaluation of automatic thermal desorption–capillary GC for determination of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCS) in indoor air

Some data on a newly developed filter/sorbent indoor air SVOC sampling device for thermal desorption analyiss are described. Thermal desorption of SVOCs spiked on Tenax had reponse factors identical to on-column injection except for highly polar compounds like fatty acids. SVOCs spiked on quartz fiber filters had response factors that on an average were 80% of the on-column response factors (66% for oxygen containing compounds and 87% for non-oxygen compounds) Low nanogram on-tube amounts of SVOCs were found generally to have lower recoveries than larger amounts from both Tenax and quart fiber filters. This appeared to be explained in part by a relatively larger “memory” effect and lower desorption efficiency. In addition, it was indicated that the “memory” effect was an important source of background contaminations that might impair analysis of low nanogram on-tube amounts of some SVOCs. Polar SVOCs. Polar SVOCs in the gas phase appear to adsorbto the quartz fiber filters. This functions as a precleaning of the sample and thus minimizes the problem with coeluting peaks. The relative standard from nine duplicate samples appeared to be sufficiently low to distinguish a day variation.     

Fast field analysis of short-chain aliphatic amines in water using solid-phase microextraction and a portable gas chromatograph

A novel method is firstly presented for field and rapid analysis of short-chain aliphatic amines in water as their pentafluorobenzaldehyde (PFBAY) derivative using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and portable GC. In the proposed method, short-chain aliphatic amines in water rapidly reacted with PFBAY, and then were headspace extracted and concentrated by SPME. The formed amines derivatives were analyzed by portable GC. The SPME parameters of fiber selection, extraction temperature, extraction time, and stirring rate were studied. The method validations including LOD, recovery, precision, and linearity were studied. It was found that the proposed method required the whole analysis time 22 min, and provided low LOD of 1.2-4.6 ng/mL, good recovery of 91-106%, good precision of RSD value 3.5-9.3%, and linear range 20.0-500 ng/mL (r(2) >0.99). The obtained results demonstrated that the SPME-portable GC is a simple, rapid, and efficient method for the field analysis of short-chain aliphatic amines. Finally, the proposed method was further applied to the quantification of ethylamine, propylamine, and butylamine in environmental water.     

Full-range analysis of ambient volatile organic compounds by a new trapping method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

This study investigated the feasibility of analyzing a full range of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from C(3) to C(12) using gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (GC/MS) coupled with thermal desorption. Two columns were used: a PLOT column separated compounds lighter than C(6) and a DB-1 column separated C(6)-C(12) compounds. An innovative heart-cut technique based on the Deans switch was configured to combine the two column outflows at the ends of the columns before entering the MS. To prevent the resolved peaks from re-converging after combining, two techniques were attempted (hold-up vs. back-flush) to achieve the intended "delayed" elution of heavier components. Thus, the resulting chromatogram covering the full range of VOCs is a combination of two separate elutions, with the heavier section following the lighter section. With the hold-up method, band-broadening inevitably occurred for the delayed C(6)-C(7) DB-1 compounds while the light compounds eluted from the PLOT column. This broadening problem resulted in peak tailing that was largely alleviated by adding a re-focusing stage while the DB-1 compounds were back-flushed, and this modified technique is referred to as the back-flush method. With this modification, the separation of the C(6)-C(7) compounds improved dramatically, as revealed by the decrease in peak asymmetry (As) and increase in resolution. Linearity and precision for these peaks also improved, yielding R(2) and RSD values better than 0.9990 and 2.8%, respectively.     

Preliminary studies of using preheated carrier gas for on-line membrane extraction of semivolatile organic compounds

In this paper, we present results for the on-line determination of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in air using membrane extraction with a sorbent interface–ion mobility spectrometry (MESI-IMS) system with a preheated carrier (stripping) gas. The mechanism of the mass transfer of SVOCs across a membrane was initially studied. In comparison with the extraction of volatile analytes, the mass transfer resistance that originated from the slow desorption from the internal membrane surface during the SVOC extraction processes should be taken into account. A preheated carrier gas system was therefore built to facilitate desorption of analytes from the internal membrane surface. With the benefit of a temperature gradient existing between the internal and external membrane surfaces, an increase in the desorption rate of a specific analyte at the internal surface and the diffusion coefficient within the membrane could be achieved while avoiding a decrease of the distribution constant on the external membrane interface. This technique improved both the extraction rate and response times of the MESI-IMS system for the analysis of SVOCs. Finally, the MESI-IMS system was shown to be capable of on-site measurement by monitoring selected polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons emitted from cigarette smoke. Figure Schematic of the MESI-IMS preheating carrier (stripping) gas system     

Capillary columns in series for GC analysis of volatile organic pollutants in atmospheric and alveolar air

Analysis of volatile organic compounds in air samples requires high resolution capillary gas chromatography. When the sample contains both polar and non-polar compounds, use of only one type of stationary phase can be unsuitable if it leads to the preferential separation of one kind of component having the same polarity at the expense of the separation of other classes of component. This paper describes the coupling of fused silica capillary columns of different polarity and length in order to achieve the separation of such complex mixtures. The combination is evaluated with a 42 component standard mixture and then applied to various atmospheric air samples and alveolar air of exposed subjects to demonstrate the capabilities of the complete sampling and separation technique.     

Development of a magnetic solid‐phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry method for the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds

Semivolatile organic compounds are a category of organic micropollutants including phthalate esters, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and so on, which are commonly analyzed by solid‐phase extraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. In this work, a highly sensitive and feasible method of magnetic solid‐phase extraction combined with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was established for the determination of semivolatile organic compounds in water. The novel method was based on a permanent magnetic resin with uniform particle size and high surface area (1154.3 m²/g). The results demonstrated that the extraction efficiency of the resin was superior to that of a C₁₈ cartridge. The method was proved to be of satisfactory recoveries (75–115.7%) and limits of detection and quantification (0.063–6.524 and 0.212–21.745 μg/L, respectively). The method was applied to the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds in the midstream Huai River. It was observed that polychlorinated biphenyls exceeded current water standards. To further illustrate the potential effects on human health, health risk assessment was conducted based on the obtained data. The existence of health risk was proved, with hexachlorobenzene and 2,2’,4,4’‐tetrachlorobiphenyl as the major causes. The method possesses the characteristics of high efficiency and rapid analysis, offering a good prospect of applications in large quantities of practical water.     

Effects of GC temperature and carrier gas flow rate on on‐line oxygen isotope measurement as studied by on‐column CO injection

Although deemed important to δ¹⁸O measurement by on‐line high‐temperature conversion techniques, how the GC conditions affect δ¹⁸O measurement is rarely examined adequately. We therefore directly injected different volumes of CO or CO–N₂ mix onto the GC column by a six‐port valve and examined the CO yield, CO peak shape, CO–N₂ separation, and δ¹⁸O value under different GC temperatures and carrier gas flow rates. The results show the CO peak area decreases when the carrier gas flow rate increases. The GC temperature has no effect on peak area. The peak width increases with the increase of CO injection volume but decreases with the increase of GC temperature and carrier gas flow rate. The peak intensity increases with the increase of GC temperature and CO injection volume but decreases with the increase of carrier gas flow rate. The peak separation time between N₂ and CO decreases with an increase of GC temperature and carrier gas flow rate. δ¹⁸O value decreases with the increase of CO injection volume (when half m/z 28 intensity is <3 V) and GC temperature but is insensitive to carrier gas flow rate. On average, the δ¹⁸O value of the injected CO is about 1‰ higher than that of identical reference CO. The δ¹⁸O distribution pattern of the injected CO is probably a combined result of ion source nonlinearity and preferential loss of C¹⁶O or oxygen isotopic exchange between zeolite and CO. For practical application, a lower carrier gas flow rate is therefore recommended as it has the combined advantages of higher CO yield, better N₂–CO separation, lower He consumption, and insignificant effect on δ¹⁸O value, while a higher‐than‐60 °C GC temperature and a larger‐than‐100 µl CO volume is also recommended. When no N₂ peak is expected, a higher GC temperature is recommended, and vice versa. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimum performance of capillary GC columns as a function of tube diameter and film thickness under various operating conditions. Computer program for calculation of H-ū curves and minimum analysis times

The Golay-Giddings and Poiseuille equations are used to derive equations for the calculation of the maximum plate number and minimum time conditions for given columns at fixed, but selectable, outlet pressures. In addition, expressions are presented for the determination of minimum analysis times for separation problems requiring given plate numbers. In this instance, the optimum column length can be calculated as a function of outlet pressure. A Basic computer program, incorporating the equations for the various optima, together with the H-ū curves, is described. Input variables are either column length or desired plate number, column diameter, film thickness, capacity ratio of the solute, column outlet pressure, seperation temperature, and carrier gas. The carrier gas viscosity is automatically calculated in the case of hydrogen, helium, or nitrogen. For these gases, and if the solute is a n-alkane, the diffusivity of the solute in the mobile phase is calculated. In this case, the carbon number of the solute is needed in the computation. For high molecular weight polydimethylsilicone phases (e.g. SE-30), the program can approximate the diffusivity of n-alkanes in the stationary phase at the given temperature as a function of the carbon number. Of course, manually entered values of viscosity and diffusion coefficients can be included in the calculations.     

Application of a unique selective PLOT capillary column for the analysis of oxygenated compounds in ambient air

Summary A new PLOT column (CP-LOWOX) designed specifically for the analysis of oxygenated compounds has been used for the gas chromatographic determination of semi-volatile carbonyl compounds. The separation behavior of the new column was investigated by comparing it with the widely used non-polar polydimethylsiloxane and polar poly(ethylene glycol) columns. The CP-LOWOX column has unique selectivity for aldehydes and ketones enabling a selective separation of these analytes from predominating hydrocarbon matrices. Application of the CP-LOWOX column for the analysis of polar compounds in ambient air is demonstrated. Sampling was performed by adsorptive enrichment coupled with thermal desorption. The suitability of Tenax TA and a multi-bed adsorbent trap Carbotrap C and Carbotrap) was tested for the sampling of semivolatile carbonyl compounds. Presented at Balaton Symposium on High Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 1–3, 1999     

电子制冷预浓缩-双柱气相色谱-质谱/氢火焰检测器法测定空气中104种挥发性有机物

基于吸附剂辅助电子制冷预浓缩技术，建立了多维切割双柱气相色谱-质谱/氢火焰离子化检测器（GC-MS/FID）同时测定环境空气中104种挥发性有机物（VOCs）的方法。将采集于苏玛罐中的环境空气样品在配有吸附剂的电子制冷预浓缩系统中富集、脱附、除水、除CO₂和浓缩，然后通过GC-MS/FID的多维切割单元将C₂~C₃组分和C₄~C₁₂组分分别引入PLOT柱和InterCap-624柱进行分离。C₂~C₃组分用FID检测，以保留时间定性、外标法定量；C₄~C₁₂组分采用电子轰击离子源质谱检测，以保留时间和特征离子定性、内标法定量。考察了冷阱吸附剂种类、辅助压力控制单元压力设置、双柱切换时间切割点等参数对分析结果的影响，优化了GC-MS/FID条件，并评估了在此优化条件下的方法性能。104种VOCs在0.0446~0.892 μmol/m³范围内线性关系良好，相关系数（r）为0.9984~0.9999，对0.0446 μmol/m³和0.223 μmol/m³水平的混合标准气体重复6次进样，平均回收率为86.4%~116.1%，相对标准偏差为0.9%~11.3%；方法的检出限为0.145~1.90 μg/m³，定量限为0.435~5.70 μg/m³。该法稳定性好，灵敏度高，操作简便，可用于环境空气中104种VOCs的测定。     

十二烷基苯磺酸铜毛细管柱的制备及其在酚类化合物分析中的应用

酚类化合物是环境科学必须检测的一类有机污染物,因为此类化合物具有致癌、致畸、致突变性的潜在毒性,是炼油、炼焦、造纸、化工等工业废水中的主要物质,美、日等国都将其列入优先监测物质的黑名单,严格控制排放,指定了官方标准分析方法,例如,EPA604方法。因为酚类物质具有很强的极性,在环境温度下具有较低的蒸气压。     

Low‐pressure barrier discharge ion source using air as a carrier gas and its application to the analysis of drugs and explosives

In this work, a low‐pressure air dielectric‐barrier discharge (DBD) ion source using a capillary with the inner diameter of 0.115 and 12 mm long applicable to miniaturized mass spectrometers was developed. The analytes, trinitrotoluene (TNT), 1,3,5‐trinitroperhydro‐1,3,5‐triazine (RDX), 1,3,5,7‐tetranitroperhydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocine (HMX), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), nitroglycerine (NG), hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), caffeine, cocaine and morphine, introduced through the capillary, were ionized by a low‐pressure air DBD. The ion source pressures were changed by using various sizes of the ion sampling orifice. The signal intensities of those analytes showed marked pressure dependence. TNT was detected with higher sensitivity at lower pressure but vice versa for other analytes. For all analytes, a marked signal enhancement was observed when a grounded cylindrical mesh electrode was installed in the DBD ion source. Among nine analytes, RDX, HMX, NG and PETN could be detected as cluster ions [analyte + NO₃]^? even at low pressure and high temperature up to 180 °C. The detection indicates that these cluster ions are stable enough to survive under present experimental conditions. The unexpectedly high stabilities of these cluster ions were verified by density functional theory calculation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance and characteristics of a trace gas analyzer for the determination of volatile organic compounds in air

An instrument has been developed and tested for the continuous measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in air. The system consists of a gas chromatograph equipped with a dedicated sampling device that allows the sample to be transferred to a cooled microtrap via sampling loops (10, 100, 250 ml) or via a direct pump transfer to the trap. The microtrap is placed in the chromatographic oven just below a modified split-splitless injector, allowing direct liquid injection for calibration of the system; the injector is in communication with the sampling valve equipped with the loop and the sampling pump. The system allows 24-hour sampling and analysis of a large number of VOC (up to 25 individual hydrocarbons ranging from C2 C9) and also polar volatile organic compounds PVOC. Thanks to the particular trap geometry, a minimum consumption of liquid nitrogen (between 150 300 ml) is needed for each analytical run and no water managing system is normally required for humid air samples.     

Use of hydrogen as a carrier gas for the analysis of steroids with anabolic activity by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Due to the impact in the media and the requirements of sensitivity and robustness, the detection of the misuse of forbidden substances in sports is a really challenging area for analytical chemistry, where any study focused on enhancing the performance of the analytical methods will be of great interest. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of using hydrogen instead of helium as a carrier gas for the analysis of anabolic steroids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with electron ionization. There are several drawbacks related with the use of helium as a carrier gas: it is expensive, is a non-renewable resource, and has limited availability in many parts of the world. In contrast, hydrogen is readily available using a hydrogen generator or high-pressure bottled gas, and allows a faster analysis without loss of efficiency; nevertheless it should not be forgotten that due to its explosiveness hydrogen must be handled with caution. Throughout the study the impact of the change of the carrier gas will be evaluated in terms of: performance of the chromatographic system, saving of time and money, impact on the high vacuum in the analyzer, changes in the fragmentation behaviour of the analytes, and finally consequences for the limits of detection achieved with the method.     

Performance evaluation of a rapid-scanning quadrupole mass spectrometer in the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography analysis of pesticides in water

The performance of a novel rapid-scanning (20,000 amu/s) quadrupole mass spectrometer (qMS) has been evaluated in the comprehensive 2-D gas chromatography (GC×GC) analysis of pesticides contained in water. Analyte extraction was performed by using direct solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The MS system was operated using a rather wide m/z 50-450 mass range and a 33 Hz spectral production rate, a frequency which was found sufficient for reliable quantification. The qMS performance was evaluated considering: (i) number of data points per peak, (ii) mass spectral quality, (iii) extent of peak skewing, and (iv) consistency of retention times. Seven-point calibration curves (external calibration) were constructed for 28 pesticides over the limit of quantification range of 100 μg/L (1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 μg/L). The solid-phase microextraction-GC×GC-qMS method was validated by calculating limits of detection and quantification, intraday peak area precision, accuracy, and intraday retention-time precision. A series of tap water samples were subjected to analysis, fortunately giving negative results.     

A sensitive and efficient method for trace analysis of some phenolic compounds using simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction from human urine and plasma samples followed by gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection

In present study, a simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method combined with gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection has been developed for the determination of some phenolic compounds in biological samples. The analytes are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with 1‐flouro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene under mild conditions. Under optimal conditions low limits of detection in the range of 0.05–0.34 ng mL^?1 are achievable. The obtained extraction recoveries are between 84 and 97% and the relative standard deviations are less than 7.2% for intraday (n = 6) and interday (n = 4) precisions. The proposed method was demonstrated to be a simple and efficient method for the analysis of phenols in biological samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fabrication of polyaniline‐coated halloysite nanotubes by in situ chemical polymerization as a solid‐phase microextraction coating for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in aqueous solutions

We have synthesized an organic–inorganic polyaniline–halloysite nanotube composite by an in situ polymerization method. This nanocomposite is immobilized on a stainless‐steel wire and can be used as a fiber coating for solid‐phase microextraction. It was found that our new solid‐phase microextraction fiber is an excellent adsorbent for the extraction of some volatile organic compounds in aqueous samples in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The coating can be prepared easily, is mechanically stable, and exhibits relatively high thermal stability. It is capable of extracting phenolic compounds from water samples. Following thermal desorption, the phenols were quantified by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. The effects of extraction temperature, extraction time, sample ionic strength, stirring rate, pH, desorption temperature and desorption time were studied. Under optimal conditions, the repeatability for one fiber (n = 5), expressed as the relative standard deviation, is between 6.2 and 9.1%. The detection limits range from 0.005 to 4 ng/mL. The method offers the advantage of being simple to use, with a shorter analysis time, lower cost of equipment and higher thermal stability of the fiber in comparison to conventional methods of analysis.