Affiliation: | aCentre for Atmospheric and Instrumentation Research (CAIR), University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9AB, United Kingdom bMicro and Trace Analysis Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium cToxicological Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium dDepartment of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iassy, Carol I Bvd. No 11, 700506 Iassy, Romania eLaboratory of Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium |
Abstract: | In the past few years, low-pressure gas chromatography (LP-GC) has been applied for the fast analysis of various pollutants in different environmental and food matrices. A typical LP-GC set-up involves the use of a short microbore column (typically 0.5–1 m × 0.10 mm internal diameter) at the injector side connected with a zero dead-volume connector to a short megabore column (typically 10 m × 0.53 mm) to be used with higher gas velocities. This set-up maintains atmospheric injection conditions, while the analytical column is operated under low-pressure conditions that are compatible with mass-spectrometer analyzers. Although the use of LP-GC results in a loss of separation efficiency, it offers a 3–5-fold reduction in analysis time for organic compounds and thus increased sample throughput and enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio leading to improved detection limits. Considering the significance of, and the potential interest in, this topic, this review briefly describes the concept of LP-GC. Furthermore, we explore recent developments and applications of LP-GC, with a focus on the use of various column systems and analyzers. Finally, we critically evaluate the prospects for, and the limitations of, LP-GC. |