Introduction
Basic Principle of GC–sample vaporized by injection into a heated system, eluted through a column by inert gaseous mobile phase and detected.
Three types: gas – solid chromatography, gas – liquid, gas – bonded phase.
Gas chromatography quickly gained general acceptance because it was introduced at the time when improved analytical controls were required in the petrochemical industries, and new techniques were needed to overcome the limitations of old laboratory methods. Nowadays, gas chromatography is a mature technique, widely used worldwide for the analysis of almost every type of organic compound, even those that are not volatile in their original state but can be converted to volatile derivatives.
Basic GC Chromatography Theory, Concepts and Applications
Atoms of different elements absorb characteristic wavelengths of light. Analyzing a sample to see if it contains a particular element means using light from that element. For example, with lead, a lamp containing lead emits light from excited lead atoms that produce the right mix of wavelengths to be absorbed by any lead atoms from the sample. In AAS, the sample is atomized – ie converted into ground state free atoms in the vapour state – and a beam of electromagnetic radiation emitted from excited lead atoms is passed through the vaporized sample. Some of the radiation is absorbed by the lead atoms in the sample. The greater the number of atoms there is in the vapour, the more radiation is absorbed. The amount of light absorbed is proportional to the number of lead atoms. A calibration curve is constructed by running several samples of known lead concentration under the same conditions as the unknown. The amount the standard absorbs is compared with the calibration curve and this enables the calculation of the lead concentration in the unknown sample. Consequently an atomic absorption spectrometer needs the following three components: a light source; a sample cell to produce gaseous atoms; and a means of measuring the specific light absorbed.
Advantages of GC Chromatography
Atomic absorption spectrometry has many uses in different areas of chemistry.
- Clinical analysis. Analyzing metals in biological fluids such as blood and urine.
- Environmental analysis. Monitoring our environment – eg finding out the levels of various elements in rivers, seawater, drinking water, air, petrol and drinks such as wine, beer and fruit drinks.
- Pharmaceuticals. In some pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, minute quantities of a catalyst used in the process (usually a metal) are sometimes present in the final product. By using AAS the amount of catalyst present can be determined.
- Industry. Many raw materials are examined and AAS is widely used to check that the major elements are present and that toxic impurities are lower than specified – eg in concrete, where calcium is a major constituent, the lead level should be low because it is toxic.
- Mining. By using AAS the amount of metals such as gold in rocks can be determined to see whether it is worth mining the rocks to extract the gold.
