Mohamed Adahchour

Recent developments in the application of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

The literature on comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) is reviewed, with emphasis on application-oriented studies published in the period 2004-2006. The various strategies that can be used in such studies, the state-of-the-art analytical performance and the high potential of GC x GC combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection are highlighted.

Simple, non-moving modulation interface for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography.

A simple, non-moving dual-stage CO2 jet modulator is described, which cools two short sections of the front end of the second-dimension column of a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph. A stream of expanding CO2 is sprayed directly onto this capillary column to trap small fractions eluting from the first-dimension column. Remobilization of the trapped analytes is performed by direct heating by the GC oven air. Installation, maintenance and control of the modulator is simple. Focusing and remobilization of the fractions is a very efficient process, as the bandwidths of the re-injected pulses are less than 10 ms. As a result, alkane peaks eluting from the second-dimension column have peakwidths at the baseline of only 120 ms.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection for the trace analysis of flavour compounds in food

The practicability and potential of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF-MS) for the analysis of complex flavour mixtures in food were studied. With the determination of key flavour targets in dairy samples as an example, it was demonstrated that GC x GC dramatically improves the separation. As a consequence, identification and, more importantly, quantification down to the ng/g level can be performed more reliably: background interferences largely disappear. Next to the peak table generated from the GC-TOF-MS software after data processing, the additional use of well-ordered patterns in the 2D-plane and information from second-dimension retention times can substantially help the identification of unknowns. The technique was successfully used for an evaluation of extraction techniques and the characterisation of different types of samples.

Application of solid-phase micro-extraction and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) for flavour analysis

SummaryHeadspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS SPME), comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC), and flame ionization detection (FID) have been examined for their suitability and compatibility for rapid sampling, separation, and detection of garlic flavour volatiles. This approach (HS-SPME-GC×GC-FID) is distinctly superior to use of one-dimensional GC, i. e., HS-SPME-GC-FID. Direct comparison of the experimental results showed that a 10–50-fold increase in sensitivity is obtained, separating power is substantially enhanced, and the peak capacity is up to ten times higher. As a consequence, much more detailed flavour analysis can be performed; this results in better information about the aroma-active compounds.

Trace-level determination of polar flavour compounds in butter by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Volatile compounds are responsible for the aromas of butter. A simple technique for the determination of these components is described which is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) after melting of the butter and separation of the aqueous phase from the fat. Volatile flavours present in the water fraction are collected by off-line SPE on cartidges packed with a copolymer sorbent. After desorption with 500 microliters of methyl acetate, 1-microliter aliquots are quantified and/or identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The procedure was tested with respect to recovery, linearity and limit of detection in real-life samples using five polar model analytes. It allows the characterisation of polar flavour compounds in butter prior to and after heat treatment at 170 degrees C. From the five model compounds, vanillin, traces of diacetyl and maltol were found to be present in the butter samples. After heat treatment 500-1000-fold increased concentration of maltol, and substantial amounts of furaneol were detected.

Investigations on analyte losses in systems suited for large-volume on-column injections

SummaryUse of a large-volume injection system with a solvent vapour exit (SVE) requires optimisation. An appropriate strategy is to determine the evaporation rate by increasing the injection time at a fixed injection speed, injection temperature and head pressure. When measuring the flow rate in the carrier gas supply line to the on-column injector, optimisation can be very rapid: some five injections of pure solvent will be sufficient.When working under partially concurrent solvent evaporation conditions, loss of volatiles is often observed if no retaining precolumn is used between the retention gap and the SVE. To investigate the requirements (length and stationary phase) of the retaining precolumn, C8–C18n-alkanes inn-hexane were used. The minimum length of the retaining precolumn (0.32 mm diameter) needed to prevent substantial losses of volatiles was 2 m. Experiments with retaining precolumns with and without stationary phase gave identical results. This shows that there is no need to coat the capillary as it only acts as a restrictor.

Multidimensional and Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography

The analysis of many complex samples requires a performance which conventional one-dimensional (1D) GC cannot provide. In multidimensional GC (MDGC) selected fractions of the GC eluate are online subjected to a second GC separation. This is a useful technique when only one, or a few, target analyte has to be determined. When, however, wide ranging screening has to be performed or the detection/identification of unknowns is of particular interest, MDGC becomes extremely time-consuming and cannot really solve the analytical problems. Comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC) should now be used. Here the entire sample is subjected to two (independent) separations, using a very rapid (2–8 s) second-dimension separation in order not to lose the resolution achieved on the first column. The total run time is therefore essentially the same as with a conventional 1D separation! The set-up of a GC×GC system is discussed and attention is given to (1) the interface between the two GC columns, the (cryogenic-type) modulator, which effects the trapping of each subsequent first-column eluate fraction and its rapid relaunching onto the second column, and (2) detection, usually with a ToF MS, micro-ECD or FID detector which provide the high data acquisition rate necessary because of the fast second separation. Applications deal with the analysis of food, fragrances, biological, environmental and air/aerosol samples, and petrochemical products, and with the trace analysis of many classes of organohalogens. The much improved analyte-from-analyte as well as analytes-from-interfering background separations, the creation of ‘ordered structures’ which facilitate analyte classification, improved detectability, and reliable (ToF MS-based) identification are highlighted.