Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (2)

ANALYTICAL INFORMATION

Material Identification - The first result from the compiled data is a total-ion chromatogram (TIC), which is a plot of the total mass eluting from the GC and detected by MS as a function of time. Each

peak or band in the chromatogram represents a discrete chemical compound, or a mixture of compounds with identical retention times. The retention times in the chromatogram provide the first

indication of the sample constituents. More specific identification of the compound(s) for each band can then be made from the mass spectrum corresponding to the band. Compounds are identified from the mass spectrum by their unique ion fragmentation patterns. This compound identification analysis is performed by a computerized comparison of the mass spectra for the sample with spectra library for known compounds.

Quantitation - The analysis results can be quantified using the data from the chromatogram. The area under each peak in the chromatogram is proportional to the concentration of the compounds represented by that peak. The concentration for each compound in the sample is calculated from a standard curve of known concentrations established for that compound. The analysis sensitivity can be as low as a few nanograms.

Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (1)

DESCRIPTION OF TECHNIQUE

Gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is the marriage of two analytical methods into a versatile technique for the identification of complex volatile materials. Gas chromatography (GC) effectively separates the different constituents of the sample for subsequent analysis and identification by mass spectrometry (MS).

The chromatographic separation relies on the interaction of the sample with a mobile phase and a stationary phase within the GC instrument column. The sample is carried through the column by the mobile phase, typically an inert gas. However, the sample is slowed in its travel through the column as the sample molecules repeatedly adsorb and desorb from the stationary phase in the column. The affinity of a particular molecule for the stationary phase determines the retention time of that constituent in the column. The molecules for each component of the sample will travel through the column at nearly the same rate and exit (elute) from the column within a narrow time band that is specific to that component. Thus, compounds with different retention times in the column are physically separated for presentation to a detector and analyzer.

The typical GC capillary column consists of a smalldiameter tube with a thin film of a high-molecularweight polymer coated on the inside. The polymer is the stationary phase for the chromatographic process. The mobile phase can be any inert gas, but is typically helium. The instrument also includes a heated injection port to vaporize all volatile constituents of the sample and an oven to keep the constituents in gas form as they pass through the column.

WinRar 4.20

WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.

Version 4.20

1. Changes in RAR compression:

a) RAR general compression algorithm is optimized for better utilization of several processor cores. While some speed gain is possible even in single processor mode, best results are achieved in multi-core environment.
Speed gain depends on data type and average file size. Several cores are utilized more efficiently when compressing large files.

b) we had to increase memory requirements to achieve higher compression speed. General RAR compression algorithm allocates about 120 MB comparing to 40 MB in WinRAR 4.11;

c) RAR text compression algorithm cannot utilize several CPU cores efficiently, so its performance in multiprocessor environment is much lower than for general algorithm. Also its decompression speed is much lower than in general algorithm regardless of CPU number. So we decided to disable the text algorithm by default.

If you need maximum possible compression ratio for plain text data regardless of speed, you can enable the text compression in "Advanced compression parameter" dialog. Press "Compression..." button on "Advanced" page of archiving dialog to access it. You can also change this option permanently in default compression profile; In the command line mode the text compression can be enabled with -mct switch;

d) "Fastest" (-m1) compression mode also supports several processor cores now. In 4.11 it could use only a single processor core.

Ion Chromatography

DESCRIPTION OF TECHNIQUE

Ion chromatography (IC) is the separation and quantitative analysis of anions and cations in an ionic solution using the ion exchange method of liquid chromatography (LC). The chromatographic process separates the different ions within the sample. The amount of an anion/cation is measured by the change in conductivity as the species passes through the detector. The ions in the sample solution are carried through the system by an ionic solution, or eluent (mobile phase). The different ions in the eluent are separated in a column packed with an ion exchange resin (stationary phase). The resin has a thin surface layer of active material with limited ion exchange sites. If anions are to be analyzed, the active sites will have a fixed positive charge to attract the anions. Resins for cation analysis will have a negative charge. Individual ions attach and detach from the resins at a rate depending on the affinity of the specific ion to the active sites. Ions with greater affinity for the stationary phase are retained in the column for a longer time than those with less affinity for the stationary phase. Thus, the ions of particular chemical species in the solution exit or elute from the column within a narrow time band specific to that ion. The detector at the end of the column continuously measures the conductivity of the eluent to determine the quantity of the eluting ions as a function of time. The data from the detector are compiled into a plot of ion abundance versus time, referred to as a chromatogram. The position of a peak in the chromatogram is characteristic of a specific ion. The peak size is a function of the concentration for the ion represented by that peak.