GCxGC is making an impact in a number of different markets. Recently, it was used to examine the chemical complexity of coal tar, which was unique in that few studies have examined coal tar using two-dimensional gas chromatography. In doing this, the study expanded the target analyte list, and improved the capability of measuring the inputs and impacts of organic compounds released from coal tar on the environment. You can find this intriguing study--Unprecedented Insights into the Chemical Complexity of Coal Tar from Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry and Direct Infusion Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry--by following this link! 

Our Separation Science instrumentation has a number of different applications, this month's app notes focus on the analysis of water samples using the Pegasus® GC-TOFMS system. 

When measuring Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in water, a time-of-flight mass spectrometer is an ideal detector because of its ability to record up to hundreds of spectra/second. This was put to the test in the following app note, where Las Vegas drinking water's VOCs were analyzed to show the improvement in accuracy and detection of non-target compounds using GC-TOFMS. Click here to read the app note.

There is a public health need for high-throughput when testing for water contamination, while also maintaining accurate results. In this application note, a new approach to this analysis was exhibited using automated solid phased extraction (SPE) with drying of the extract using a Gore-Tex® membrane and analysis by LECO's Pegasus GC-TOFMS. This cut down the total analysis time to 30 minutes rather than 2 to 3 hours, read about it here.