Supelco Ionic Iiquid GC columns - Applications

Significance of the topic

The introduction of ionic liquid stationary phases in capillary gas chromatography offers unprecedented selectivity and thermal stability. These phases expand the range of interaction mechanisms beyond conventional polysiloxane and polyethylene glycol chemistries, enabling separation of challenging isomers, polarizable compounds, and trace-level analytes across environmental, petrochemical, biofuel, food, clinical, and general analytical applications.

Objectives and overview

This whitepaper demonstrates the versatility of Supelco SLB-IL columns (IL-59, IL-60, IL-82, IL-100, IL-111) through a series of application case studies. Each section highlights how alternative selectivity and high bleed resistance improve resolution, reduce analysis time, and withstand harsh conditions.

Methodology and instrumentation

Analyses were carried out on standard GC/MS and GC/FID systems using helium or hydrogen carriers. Columns included:

• SLB-IL59 (20–30 m, 0.18–0.25 mm I.D., 0.14–0.20 µm)
• SLB-IL60 (30 m × 0.25 mm I.D., 0.20 µm)
• SLB-IL82 (30 m × 0.25 mm I.D., 0.20 µm)
• SLB-IL100 (30–60 m × 0.25–0.32 mm I.D., 0.20 µm)
• SLB-IL111 (30–100 m × 0.25 mm I.D., 0.20 µm)

Detectors: mass spectrometry (scan m/z ranges from 30–550) and flame ionization (FID). Typical GC ovens employed temperature ramps from 30 °C up to 300 °C, injection liners were split/splitless FocusLiner designs.

Key results and discussion

Environmental: Baseline separation of 19 PCB congeners and 17 PAHs with low bleed and alternate elution order compared to polar columns.
Petroleum: Single-column resolution of benzene, oxygenates, and internal standards in reformulated gasoline using SLB-IL111 in 30–60 m lengths.
Biofuels: Complete separation of FAMEs from alkanes in blended biodiesel (B20) and rapid profiling of industrial solvents, esters, ethers, amines, and sulfur compounds.
Agriculture: Fingerprinting of edible oils and rapeseed FAMEs, including separation of CLA isomers not resolvable on other columns.
Food & beverage: Comprehensive cis/trans FAME analysis in edible fats, fish oils, milk, cheese, and cookies; improved throughput and isomer resolution over PEG and cyanopropyl phases.
Clinical: Detailed profiling of plasma and human milk fatty acids, including omega-3 isomers (ALA, EPA, DHA) and trans FAMEs.
General analytical: Demonstrated robustness under air as carrier gas through 300 high-temperature cycles with minimal performance loss.

Benefits and practical applications

• Enhanced selectivity for isomeric and polarizable analytes
• Reduced analysis times and improved peak shape
• High thermal stability and resistance to moisture/O₂ damage
• Broad applicability across industries for routine QC and research

Future trends and applications

Ionic liquid phases will expand into multidimensional GC, custom selectivity for targeted separations, and integration with high-throughput workflows. Ongoing research will optimize phase chemistries for emerging contaminants, complex lipidomics, and flavor-fragrance profiling.

Conclusion

Supelco SLB-IL columns deliver versatile, high-performance separations across a wide analyte range. Their unique interaction mechanisms and ruggedness make them valuable tools for modern GC and GC/MS laboratories seeking improved resolution, faster throughput, and robustness under demanding conditions.

Reference

No formal references were provided in the source document.