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Gas Chromatography Basics Explained

Gas chromatography (GC) is an analytical technique used in research, industrial, environmental, and forensic laboratories to identify and quantify compounds in mixtures. GC works by separating compounds using an inert carrier gas mobile phase and a coated column stationary phase. Compounds interact differently with the stationary phase based on their properties, causing them to elute from the column at different retention times. This separation allows detection of very small quantities of compounds in a variety of sample types.

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53 views1 page

Gas Chromatography Basics Explained

Gas chromatography (GC) is an analytical technique used in research, industrial, environmental, and forensic laboratories to identify and quantify compounds in mixtures. GC works by separating compounds using an inert carrier gas mobile phase and a coated column stationary phase. Compounds interact differently with the stationary phase based on their properties, causing them to elute from the column at different retention times. This separation allows detection of very small quantities of compounds in a variety of sample types.

Uploaded by

Vijay Kumar
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Gas Chromatography (GC or GLC) is a commonly used analytic technique in many

research and industrial laboratories for quality control as well as identification and
quantitation of compounds in a mixture. GC is also a frequently used technique in
many environmental and forensic laboratories because it allows for the detection of
very small quantities. A broad variety of samples can be analyzed as long as the
compounds are sufficiently thermally stable and reasonably volatile.

How does gas chromatography work?

Like for all other chromatographic techniques, a mobile and a stationary phase are
required for this technique. The mobile phase (=carrier gas) is comprised of an inert
gas i.e., helium, argon, or nitrogen. The stationary phase consists of a packed column
in which the packing or solid support itself acts as stationary phase, or is coated with
the liquid stationary phase (=high boiling polymer). Most analytical gas
chromatographs use capillary columns, where the stationary phase coats the walls of a
small-diameter tube directly (i.e., 0.25 μm film in a 0.32 mm tube).

The separation of compounds is based on the different strengths of interaction of the


compounds with the stationary phase (“like-dissolves-like”-rule). The stronger the
interaction is, the longer the compound interacts with the stationary phase, and the
more time it takes to migrate through the column (=longer retention time). In the
example above, compound X interacts stronger with the stationary phase, and
therefore lacks behind compound O in its movement through the column. As a result,
compound O has a much shorter retention time than compound X.

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