Application of a flow-tunable, serially coupled gas chromatographic capillary column system for the analysis of complex mixtures

Summary A capillary column gas chromatographic system employing two serially coupled fused-silica columns and a simple coupling element is described. The system is operated in flow-tunable mode (flow-tunable tandem system). The very fact of continuous tuning over a large polarity (selectivity) range, ultimately determined by the two constituent columns, offers several possibilities in the analysis of complex mixtures. In this paper two applications are discussed in detail: optimization of peak separation and peak identification. For these applications it is feasible to use, retention data collected from experiments on the tandem system, and empirical formulas. A relatively simple theoretical mathematical model valid for the flow-tunable tandem system, however, furnishes an easy way of calculating retention data on the system from data collected from the individual single columns, thus, creating a new possibility for optimization and peak identification. Optimization and peak identification processes using the empirical and theoretical models are both demonstrated by analysis of solvent mixtures. Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Tibor Tóth Presented at Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 1–3, 1999