Large sample injection method (≥ 100 μL) for capillary GC using a commercial thermodesorption unit as injection device

A commercial thermodesorption and cold trap unit can be used as a large sample volume injection device in high resolution gas chromatography. Volumes of more than 100 μl can be injected. More than 97% of solvents, such as hexane, can be removed by a Tenax TA precolumn without any loss of compounds with volatilities comparable to naphthalene. Experimental conditions, recovery rates of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and the reproducibility of the method are described in detail. The method was successfully applied for the determination of PAH in air particulate matter extracts.