News from LabRulezGCMS Library - Week 38, 2024

Our Library never stops expanding. What are the most recent contributions to LabRulezGCMS Library in the week of 16th September 2024? Check out new documents from the field of the gas phase, especially GC and GC/MS techniques!

👉 SEARCH THE LARGEST REPOSITORY OF DOCUMENTS ABOUT GCMS AND RELATED TECHNIQUES

👉 Need info about different analytical techniques? Peek into LabRulezLCMS or LabRulezICPMS libraries.

This week we bring to you applications and other documents by Agilent Technologies, Shimadzu, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and LECO!

1. Shimadzu: Database for GC-MS(/MS) Aroma Analysis - Smart Aroma Database

• Brochure

Provides Efficient and Accurate Aroma Analysis Using GC-MS(/MS)

Information on more than 500 compounds that contribute to aroma is registered in Smart Aroma Database™, enabling the objective evaluation and analysis of aroma compounds using GC-MS(/MS).

1. Automatically Detects Aroma Compounds from Scan Measurements with High Accuracy

2. Easily Narrows Down the Compounds that Contribute to the Aroma

3. Enables High-Sensitivity Target Analysis Using MRM and SIM

4. Supports a Variety of Systems

2. Agilent Technologies: Agilent J&W DB-5Q and HP-5Q GC columns

• Brochure

Get the Most from Your MS

As mass spectrometry continues to push the boundaries of sensitivity and speed, you need a column that can do the same

• Agilent J&W 5Q GC columns are designed to ensure optimal analyte delivery to your quadrupoles. They combine industry-leading ultra inert performance with ultra low-bleed technology, setting a new standard for GC/MS column reliability and productivity.
• Ultra low-bleed performance enhances data accuracy with high spectral fidelity and stable baseline integration.
• Ultra inert performance increases sensitivity for active, trace-level analytes and provides balanced deactivation for multiclass analyte panels.
• Ultrafast conditioning and outstanding column durability improve uptime by minimizing the frequency of column changes.
• Identical selectivity to current 5ms columns simplifies adaptation to existing retention time libraries and retention time locking.
• Compatibility with any GC/MS system ensures a seamless fit for all Agilent GC platforms. Agilent J&W 5Q GC columns are available in high-efficiency, hydrogen-compatible, and backflushing dimensions.

3. Thermo Fisher Scientific: Improvements for the analysis of volatile (VOC) and very volatile (VVOC) organic compounds using In-Tube Extraction-Dynamic Headspace (ITEX-DHS) and cryogen-free refocusing

• Application

Goal

To demonstrate how the technological development of dynamic headspace extraction/enrichment techniques, such as ITEX-DHS (In-Tube Extraction-Dynamic Headspace) coupled to a cryogen-free refocusing in the PTV injector, enables the achievement of lower detection limits for volatile and very volatile organic compounds.

Introduction

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of organic chemicals with low vapor pressure that can easily evaporate into the air, even at room temperature. These compounds can originate from various sources, including industrial processes, vehicle emissions, and natural sources. While VOCs are often associated with air pollution, they can also contaminate water, thus posing potential risks to human health and the environment.¹ VOCs can enter water through direct discharges, atmospheric deposition, or runoff from contaminated areas. Common VOCs found in water include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), as well as chlorinated compounds such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). These compounds can cause adverse health effects, ranging from short-term irritation to long-term chronic conditions, depending on the concentration and duration of exposure.

Regulatory authorities all over the world have established limits to control the maximum amount of VOCs in drinking water, groundwater, or surface water (e.g., Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in the USA or the European Directive 2008/105/EC).^2,3 Therefore, monitoring and analyzing VOCs in water play crucial roles in identifying and addressing potential contamination issues, guiding remediation efforts, and ensuring compliance with water quality regulations.⁴

Common methods to analyze VOCs in water include headspace, purge and trap, solid-phase microextraction, and liquid-liquid
extraction as possible sample preparation techniques employed to extract and concentrate VOCs before GC-MS analysis. As technology advances, continuous improvements in analytical methods and instrumentation contribute to more accurate and efficient VOC analysis, enhancing the ability to safeguard water resources and public health.

When dealing with drinking water testing, the limits of detection are particularly challenging, requiring an efficient enrichment before GC-MS analysis.

In-Tube Extraction-Dynamic Headspace (ITEX-DHS) is a sample preparation technique for the extraction and preconcentration of volatile compounds from different matrices, such as water, soil, or biological samples. One of the key advantages of ITEX-DHS is its high sensitivity and selectivity for volatile compounds. It allows for the extraction of low concentrated analytes from complex matrices while minimizing interference from non-volatile matrix components. Additionally, the technique offers an automated and efficient sampling process through a robotic autosampler, making it suitable for unattended and time-sensitive analyses.

ITEX-DHS has found applications in various fields, including environmental monitoring, food analysis, and forensic science. Its versatility makes it particularly valuable in situations where trace-level analysis of volatile compounds is crucial. An example of the use of ITEX-DHS for the detection of odorants in water at ng/L level is reported in a previous application note.⁵

In this study, the performance of the ITEX-DHS sampling technique has been evaluated for trace level detection of volatile and very volatile compounds (VVOCs) in water, in combination with peak refocusing into a Programmed Temperature Vaporizer (PTV) injector, to enhance peak shape and signal-to-noise ratio.

4. LECO: Expand Your PFAS Analysis - Screen for Targets and Identify Unknowns Simultaneously

• Application

Key Words: PFAS, GC-MS, HR-MS, TOFMS, Environmental Analysis, Pollutants, Emerging Substances, Non-target, NTS, Screening

Background and Description

Research into the prevalence of er- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—also known as “forever chemicals” due to theirp high stability in our environment and food chain continues to grow. At the same time, regulatory control of these species in our water and food supplies continues to gain momentum. However, analysis of PFAS in complex environmental samples can be challenging due to the enormous number and variety of PFAS chemicals. New analytical methods must be developed to monitor PFAS in the environment.

This application focuses on the rapidly expanding area of PFAS analysis and highlights how screening for known PFASnote targets, as well as discovering and identifying unknown PFAS chemicals, can be performed using high-performance GC-TOFMS. New libraries are being developed to facilitate the screening of these pollutants in samples.

Conclusion

Meeting the growing environmental research and regulatory needs for PFAS analysis requires the use of powerful technologies to screen for known targets and to detect and identify unknown PFAS candidates. Here, sub-nominal mass GC-TOFMS, allowed simultaneous, full mass range, highly sensitive target, and NTS screening for PFAS in Anti-Fog/Demisting products, detecting a variety of both known PFAS and unknown PFAS candidates. The use of accurate mass GC-HR-TOFMS technology with EI and CI capabilities facilitated strong tentative identifications of the unknowns to be a class of fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs). This approach, together with the results obtained, suggests these technologies are an ideal choice for screening and identification of volatile and semi-volatile PFAS, in an array of sample types in complex matrices.