ISCC: Recent Applications with Inertness Verified Capillary GC Columns

Importance of the Topic

Gas chromatography analysis of active analytes often suffers from peak tailing and reduced sensitivity due to interactions with residual active sites on conventional columns.
High inertness GC columns minimize these effects, enabling reliable trace and ultra-trace quantitation in fields ranging from environmental testing to forensic toxicology.

Objectives and Scope of the Study

• Verify the inertness performance of Agilent J&W Ultra Inert capillary columns using challenging probe compounds such as propionic acid, trimethyl phosphate, and 4-picoline.
• Evaluate column performance in key applications including semi-volatile organics, drugs of abuse, and organophosphorous pesticides.
• Assess benefits of inertness-verified columns in both GC/MS and GC-QQQ workflows for improved peak shape, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise ratio.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The study employed a standardized Ultra Inert Test Mix of eleven compounds to challenge column deactivation. Columns evaluated included Agilent J&W HP-5ms Ultra Inert (20 m × 0.18 mm × 0.18 µm), DB-5ms Ultra Inert (15 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm), and DB-5ms Ultra Inert (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm).
Detailed operating conditions comprised splitless or pulsed-splitless injection of 0.5 µL at 250–280 °C, helium or hydrogen carrier gas at constant flow, temperature programs from 35 °C to 275 °C, and detection by mass spectrometry (transfer line 280–290 °C, source 250–300 °C, quadrupole 150–180 °C) and flame ionization detection at 325 °C.

Main Results and Discussion

Ultra Inert columns consistently delivered sharp, symmetric peaks for both strong and weak probe compounds at loadings down to 0.5 ng on column. In semi-volatile organics analysis, all eleven test compounds were detected with minimal tailing and high abundance. Drug-of-abuse screening on the DB-5ms Ultra Inert column yielded clear separation and reproducible quantitation of common narcotics and their metabolites. Organophosphorous pesticide standards exhibited reliable recovery and low column bleed. Implementation in GC-QQQ MRM workflows resulted in enhanced signal-to-noise ratios and lower limits of detection for trace-level targets.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Semi-volatile organic analysis: improved quantitation of acidic and basic semi-volatiles in environmental and food matrices.
• Forensic toxicology: robust screening of whole blood extracts for drugs of abuse with sharp peak shapes and precise quantitation.
• Pesticide residue testing: multi-residue organophosphorous pesticide analysis at part-per-billion levels.
• Consumer product safety: accurate measurement of phthalates in toys and children’s products.
• High-throughput GC-QQQ workflows: enhanced sensitivity and cleaner chromatographic baselines for complex matrices.

Future Trends and Applications

The adoption of inertness-verified columns is expected to expand into high-resolution and portable GC-MS platforms, metabolomics, and clinical diagnostics. Advances in stationary phase chemistry and column deactivation techniques will further tailor inertness to specific analyte classes. Integration with automated sampling and data processing pipelines will enhance throughput and reproducibility in regulated laboratories.

Conclusion

Agilent J&W Ultra Inert GC columns provide exceptional deactivation, yielding superior peak shape, sensitivity, and signal-to-noise performance for active analyte analysis. These columns support reliable trace and ultra-trace quantitation across diverse applications, meeting the rigorous demands of research, QA/QC, and forensic laboratories.

References

• Lynam K, Smith D. Semi-volatile Organics Analysis Using an Agilent J&W HP-5ms Ultra Inert Capillary GC Column. Agilent Publication 5990-3416EN.
• Lynam K. Semi-volatile Analysis Using an Inertness Performance Tested Agilent J&W DB-5ms Ultra Inert Column. Agilent Publication 5989-8616EN.
• Lynam K, Smith D. A Direct 5 ms Column Performance Comparison for Active Semi-Volatile Analytes. Agilent Publication 5990-4041EN.
• Quimby B, Szelewski M. Toxicology Screening of Whole Blood Extracts Using GC/Triple Quadrupole/MS. Agilent Publication 5990-3640EN.
• Luan W, Churley M, Szelewski M. Low Part-per-Billion Level Pesticides Screening in Traditional Chinese Medicine Using the Agilent 7000A GC/MS/MS. Agilent Publication 5990-3568EN.
• Lynam K, Smith D. Lavender Oil Characterization Using Agilent J&W DB-1ms Ultra Inert Capillary GC Columns. Agilent Publication 5990-3700EN.