Gas Chromatography (GC)

Work done 60 years ago at the University of Innsbruck (Austria), representing the start of gas chromatography, is outlined in this month's column.

Comprehensive GCxGC was employed for the separation of ICH and USP 1, 2, and 3 pharmaceutical solvents. The significantly improved peak capacity in GCxGC allows a single method for any combination of solvents and mitigates interference due to impurities in the solvents, diluents, analyte matrices, and from column or septum bleed, through the increased separation space.

In this month's "GC Connections" instalment, John Hinshaw discusses computerized pneumatics for gas chromatography. This is the first of a two-part series that reviews computerized pneumatics and some important considerations that arise in the course of normal use.

Since 1950, Pittcon has served as a platform for recognition of scientists whose pioneering research helped make dramatic advances in their specific disciplines. The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP), one of the two sponsoring societies that organize Pittcon, first presented its Spectroscopy Award in 1957 and has recognized the work of leading spectroscopists every year since. The second Pittcon co-sponsor, the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), began recognizing leading analytical chemists with their annual award in 1978. The list of award recipients is a "who's who" of scientists, including Nobel Laureates, whose work advanced scientific discoveries at an amazing pace while laying the groundwork for the development of modern day instrumentation, including mass spectrometry, ICP, FT-IR, and hyphenated instrumental techniques. This two-part article will provide a historical perspective on the accomplishments of several Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award and Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award winners, highlighting some of the work recognized in each decade leading up to Pittcon 2008. Part I will chronicle the years 1957 through 1977 while Part II will highlight the years 1978 through Pittcon 2008.

A study is just beginning in Brisbane, Australia using a mobile gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to analyze volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected by a breath scanner.

Indian researchers are studying the affects that EPA and DHA (together known as Omega-3), the two main long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in oily fish and shellfish, may have had on the brain development of prehistoric ancestors.

Natural Products Insider repots that 58 sports supplements have been tested using various chromatography methods, including GC., to test for steroids and stimulants.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports on Swedish findings of using GC-MS to measure serum and urine levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in young adult men and elderly men.

Anatune, a suppler of chromatography-based instrumentation, is constructing a website for gas chromatographers. Research and application information regarding GC and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) will be available.

Time reports that Colin Pillinger and his colleague Geraint Morgan have developed a mini GC-MS capable of detecting tuberculosis.

In this month's "GC Connections" installment, John Hinshaw discusses computerized pneumatics for gas chromatography. This is the first of a two-part series that reviews computerized pneumatics and some important considerations that arise in the course of normal use.

Information from guidance documents used in clinical investigations can be very useful to help meet FDA regulations regarding computer security in analytical laboratories.

Gilson, Inc. (Middleton, Wisconsin), an industry leader in purification systems for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), solid phase extraction (SPE), and gel permetation chromatography (GPC) clean-up, now offers direct support and sales in the United States.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a leader in the separation sciences and chromatography industries, announces the launch of its enhanced partner program. The program is designed to support the expansion of the companies' informatics activity via its partners around the globe, the world class program will utilize business partners to better meet customer needs in multiple industries. Thermo Scientific?s informatics offerings include laboratory information management systems, chromatography data systems, and spectroscopy software.

Screening designs are used to screen for important factors during method optimization or in robustness testing. Usually, two-level screening designs, such as fractional factorial and Plackett–Burman designs, are applied. This column discusses the properties of these designs.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) is the most widespread tandem technique in the analytical instrumentation industry. In fact, these systems account for the largest installed base of mass spectrometry instruments.

This month, Chromatography Online's Technology Forum focuses on the topic of Gas Chromatography (GC). Joining us for this discussion is Sky Countryman, GC Product Manager at Phenomenex; Gary Harland, Tandem Quadrupole MS Product Manager at Waters; a Team of Experts from Thermo Fisher Scientific; and Tom Gluodenis and Terry L. Sheehan from Agilent Technologies Life Sciences & Chemical Analysis Group.

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) is the most widespread tandem technique in the analytical instrumentation industry. In fact, these systems account for the largest installed base of mass spectrometry instruments.

John Hinshaw shows how to help your GC system live longer, perform better, and avoid problems.

The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, an event that features the newest applications and technologies in the chromatography industry, have announced the 2008 Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grants (PCMNCG) Program.

Leipziger Messe, organisers of L.A.B. - the trade fair and conference devoted to analysis, bio and laboratory equipment - have announced that the show will host 88 exhibitors from countries including the UK, US, France, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, and Germany. L.A.B. takes place from 2-4 October 2007 at ExCeL London.

Ronald E. Majors, LCGC North America columnist and Senior Chemist for the Columns and Supplies Division of Agilent Technologies, Inc., has been awarded the 2007 Martin Gold Medal by the Chromatographic Society in the United Kingdom for outstanding contributions to the chromatography field.

Reuters Health has published an article that describes how Dr. Ping Wang of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, and his colleagues used solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography (GC) to analyze exhaled volatile organic compound (VOC) markers to help with the diagnosis of lung cancer.

The Victoria Advocate (Victoria, TX) published an article about the random testing of high school student-athletes in the Texas public school system. The article is entitled "No Steroid Test is Foolproof" and focuses on the process of drug testing using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS).

AC Analytical Controls developed a new chromatographic solution that complies with all ASTM & EN chromatographic test methods listed in biodiesel specifications: the AC all-in-one Biodiesel analyser. Analysis results demonstrate that the AC analyser complies with EN 14103, EN 14105, EN 14106, EN 14110 & ASTM D6584 methods.

In addition to the universal detectors used in gas chromatography (GC), selective detectors have also played an important role in the rapid spreading of the utilization of the technique. Probably the most important selective GC detector is the electron-capture detector, with a very high sensitivity to organic compounds containing chlorine and fluorine atoms in their molecules. The electron-capture detector had a vital role in environmental protection and control - its use helped to prove the ubiquitous presence of chlorinated pesticides in nature and halocarbons in our atmosphere, and made us aware of the global extent of pollution. It was the electron-capture detector that made concentration ranges of parts-per-billion (ppb: 1:109) or even parts-per-trillion (ppt: 1:1012) detectable. Today, these terms are used routinely without realising how formidable such a sensitivity really is: 1 ppb means that a spaceship (or a UFO, depending upon one's inclination) could pick up a particular family of six from..

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) are commonly used to characterize copolymers. SEC is a powerful method to determine the molecular-weight distribution of polymers whereas Py-GC provides valuable information on their chemical composition. The combination of these two techniques could yield combined size and composition information for copolymers or polymer mixtures. A fully automated system was constructed to perform these two-dimensional (2D) characterizations. Several examples of the use of this new technique to comprehensively characterize polymers are described.

This month's installment of "GC Connections" discusses factors that can help determine which type of liquid injection technique is appropriate for specific samples, including having to use existing inlet systems that are on-hand in the laboratory with samples for which they might not be ideally suited.

This month's installment of "GC Connections" discusses factors that can help determine which type of liquid injection technique is appropriate for specific samples, including having to use existing inlet systems that are on-hand in the laboratory with samples for which they might not be ideally suited.