Equity™ Capillary GC Columns

Importance of the Topic

Capillary gas chromatography remains indispensable for the separation, identification, and quantitation of volatile and semi-volatile compounds across environmental, pharmaceutical, food, forensic, and industrial laboratories. Robust GC column performance underpins method reproducibility, sensitivity, and throughput.

Objectives and Overview of the Article

This brochure presents the newly improved Equity Capillary GC Columns from Supelco. It demonstrates how advances in polymer chemistry enhance column cross-linking, thermal stability, and lot-to-lot reproducibility. The document provides an overview of three phases—Equity-1, Equity-5, and Equity-1701—highlighting key features, performance data, and a quick look-up guide for phase selection.

Methodology and Used Instrumentation

The Equity line comprises three bonded phases tailored for non-polar, mid-polar, and polar applications. Comparative performance was assessed using standard test mixes under controlled GC and GC-MS conditions. Key instrumentation includes:

• Gas chromatographs: Agilent 5890/6890 series, PerkinElmer AutoSystem 9000, Varian CP series
• Detectors: Flame Ionization Detector (FID), Electron Capture Detector (ECD), Nitrogen-Phosphorus Detector (NPD)
• Mass spectrometers: Agilent MSD in scan and selected ion monitoring (SIM) modes
• Sampling accessories: SPME fibers, split/splitless and on-column injectors

Main Results and Discussion

Equity columns exhibit consistent high resolution, low bleed, and stable analyte response across phases and manufacturing batches. Chromatograms illustrate baseline separation of aromatics, pesticides, semivolatiles, and volatile compounds. Low bleed performance under FID and ECD modes ensures high sensitivity in trace analysis. Durability testing confirms long column life, with minimal response drift after hundreds of injections or extended thermal exposure.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Equity Capillary GC Columns offer:

• Reproducible method transfer between sites and instruments
• Improved confidence in quantitative results due to uniform analyte response
• Extended column lifetime reducing downtime and maintenance
• Covers a wide range of applications including environmental pollutants, pharmaceutical residual solvents, flavors and fragrances, petrochemicals, and clinical analyses

Future Trends and Possibilities for Application

Emerging trends include ultra-fast GC, two-dimensional GC (GC×GC), and coupling with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Continued polymer innovation may yield new stationary phases tailored for novel analytes, biofuel research, and real-time monitoring in process analytics.

Conclusion

Supelco’s enhanced Equity Capillary GC Columns deliver the performance demanded by modern analytical laboratories. Their improved polymer chemistry provides consistent resolution, low bleed, and reliable column life across diverse applications, streamlining method development and increasing laboratory productivity.

References

• Supelco Equity Capillary GC Columns brochure, Sigma-Aldrich, 2003