Signal averaging in gas chromatography

Ensemble or signal averaging, and the use of the technique for the solution of some unique problems with minimum sample handling, have previously been reported. The capability of the technique has been evaluated with microbore gas chromatography for the fast handling of a large number of analyses: ca 20–30 replicate injections are easily attainable in a reasonable analysis time. The implementation of the signal averaging technique with other concentration techniques for improving detection limits is also demonstrated.     

Flaked capillary columns with crown ether complexes for gas-liquid chromatography

Flaked capillary columns with an OV-101/CE-Na{in3}PO{in4} hydrophobic-hydrophilic sorbent have been suggested. This sorbent provides for the analysis of polar and nonpolar substances, including amines and aminoalcohols, in aqueous and organic solvents. The efficiency of new columns was demonstrated for the analysis of 25 organic substances of various classes.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2169–2173, December, 1994.The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Project No. 93-03-4969.     

Native ethylene glycol in wine: Application of a dead volume free,very fast “deans heart-cut” system on-line with multi-chromatography

Data about the existence of native HO? CH₂? CH₂? OH (MEG) in natural wines and champagne has led to delicate questions because of legal decisions already made to declare wine or champagne illegal for sale if the MEG concentrations found are above 10 mg/liter. Action has been taken because of the DEG (diethylene glycol) disaster in European wines of 1985…86. An incorrect legal decision was made due to the belief that MEG cannot be produced biochemically by grape vines. A further reason may be lack of correct data on native MEG trace concentrations, as a result of the special behavior of this diol. As first member of a homologous series whose higher members (C₄) are normally found in all wines at quite high concentration levels, MEG shows extremely adsorptive behavior. The solution of the chromatographic problems is summarized in this paper. MEG concentrations in Riesling as example are in the range of 2 to 6 mg/liter and can easily be increased by biotechnological steps to a level of around 10 to 60 mg/liter. This is again due to the specific adsorptive behavior of MEG, which can be enriched on filter surfaces and displaced when the wine acidity changes with changing types. In order to control and guarantee the qualitative and quantitative results of MEG analyses we used a combination of Deans heart cutting on-line with Multi-Chromatography. It was easy to produce false data by many otherwise useful single column or two-dimensional separation processes, etc.     

Overloaded elution band profiles of ionizable compounds in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography: Influence of the competition between the neutral and the ionic species

The parameters that affect the shape of the band profiles of acido‐basic compounds under moderately overloaded conditions (sample size less than 500 nmol for a conventional column) in RPLC are discussed. Only analytes that have a single pK_a are considered. In the buffer mobile phase used for their elution, their dissociation may, under certain conditions, cause a significant pH perturbation during the passage of the band. Two consecutive injections (3.3 and 10 μL) of each one of three sample solutions (0.5, 5, and 50 mM) of ten compounds were injected on five C₁₈‐bonded packing materials, including the 5 μm Xterra‐C₁₈ (121 Å), 5 μm Gemini‐C₁₈ (110 Å), 5 μm Luna‐C₁₈(2) (93 Å), 3.5 μm Extend‐C₁₈ (80 Å), and 2.7 μm Halo‐C₁₈ (90 Å). The mobile phase was an aqueous solution of methanol buffered at a constant _W^WpH of 6, with a phosphate buffer. The total concentration of the phosphate groups was constant at 50 mM. The methanol concentration was adjusted to keep all the retention factors between 1 and 10. The compounds injected were phenol, caffeine, 3‐phenyl 1‐propanol, 2‐phenyl butyric acid, amphetamine, aniline, benzylamine, p‐toluidine, procainamidium chloride, and propranololium chloride. Depending on the relative values of the analyte pK_a and the buffer solution pH, these analytes elute as the neutral, the cationic, or the anionic species. The influence of structural parameters such as the charge, the size, and the hydrophobicity of the analytes on the shape of its overloaded band profile is discussed. Simple but general rules predict these shapes. An original adsorption model is proposed that accounts for the unusual peak shapes observed when the analyte is partially dissociated in the buffer solution during its elution.     

Detection of processed genetically modified food using CIM monolithic columns for DNA isolation

The availability of sufficient quantities of DNA of adequate quality is crucial in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for genetically modified food detection. In this work, the suitability of anion-exchange CIM (Convective Interaction Media; BIA Separations, Ljubljana, Slovenia) monolithic columns for isolation of DNA from food was studied. Maize and its derivates corn meal and thermally pretreated corn meal were chosen as model food. Two commercially available CIM disk columns were tested: DEAE (diethylaminoethyl) and QA (quaternary amine). Preliminary separations were performed with standard solution of salmon DNA at different pH values and different NaCl concentrations in mobile phase. DEAE groups and pH 8 were chosen for further isolations of DNA from a complex matrix-food extract. The quality and quantity of isolated DNA were tested on agarose gel electrophoresis, with UV-scanning spectrophotometry, and by amplification with real-time PCR. DNA isolated in this way was of suitable quality for further PCR analyses. The described method is also applicable for DNA isolation from processed foods with decreased DNA content. Furthermore, it is more effective and less time-consuming in comparison with the existing proposed methods for isolation of DNA from plant-derived foods.     

Two-dimensional capillary gas chromatography without intermediate trapping. Electron capture detector quantitation of an amino alcohol (KABI 2128) in serum after trifluoroacetylation

A two- dimensional gas chromatograph based on the Deans switching principle is described. The unit comprises two separate ovens, each containing a fused silica capillary column. The columns are joined in a specially designed manifold permitting heart cuts to be performed without significant decrease in efficiency. The switching speed and the retention time stability of the system made it possible to perform heart cuts of only a few seconds' duration. The system has been used under isothermal conditions for the determination of an amino alcohol (KABI 2128) in the low ng/ml range after trifluoroacetylation and with electron capture detection. A much shorter clean-up procedure could be used in combination with the two-dimensional gas chromatograph as compared to a method using a single glass capillary column.     

The potential of serially coupled alkyl-bonded silica monolithic columns for high resolution separations of pharmaceutical compounds in biological fluids

Summary In this paper we investigate the potential of alkyl-bonded silica monolithic columns for the isolation and identification of drug-related components in biological fluids. Up to 6 columns have been connected in series to produce a chromatographic system with up to 40,000 plates. This high-resolution chromatography system has been coupled to both MS and NMR to enable efficient detection and characterisation of drug-related components in biological fluids. The use of six coupled columns has been shown to give enhanced resolution over a high quality silica particulate column packed with 3 μm material which exhibits the same back pressure. The effect of volume and mass load on the performance of monolithic columns for semi-preparative chromatography of biological fluids has also been investigated. In these studies it was possible to inject up to 100 mL of neat urine with no loss of chromatographic performance. Furthermore, upon re-testing, the columns showed similar chromatographic performance. Again several columns were serially connected, producing enhanced resolution in the semi-preparative mode.     

Supercritical fluid chromatography of petroleum products using flameless sulfur chemiluminescence detection

Supercritical fluid chromatography using flameless sulfur chemiluminescence detection has been investigated for the analysis of sulfur compounds in petroleum products. The chromatography and detection system was easy to implement and exhibited good precision, linearity, selectivity, and sensitivity. A minimum detectable limit of 0.3 pg sulfur/s was obtained, and response to sulfur in different sulfur species was nearly equimolar.