Second-Dimension Temperature Programming System for Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography. Part 2: Technical Improvements and Compatibility with Flow Modulation and Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

The second-dimension (D-2) temperature programmingsystem((DTPS)-D-2) for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography(GC x GC) described in Part 1 was updated and tested with thetime-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) and flow modulator. Additionof a real-time clock and remote port allowed the (2)DTPSto be a truly standalone system to be used with any GC x GC instrument.GC x GC reproducibility with the (DTPS)-D-2 was testedwith thermal and flow modulation, coupled with the TOFMS and/or FIDto demonstrate compatibility with all typical GC x GC setups.An improvement in the match factor, reverse match factor, and signal-to-noiseratio was found when performing D-2 temperature programming.Within-day and day-to-day reproducibility of the (2)DTPSfor the D-1 retention time (<= 0.04 and <= 0.05%), D-2 retention time (<= 0.36 and <= 0.52%), and peakarea (<= 2.47 and <= 3.37%) were acceptable, while providingflexibility in D-2 optimization and improved peak capacity.

Automated summary

This paper describes an updated version of the second-dimension temperature programming system (DTPS-D-2) for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC), which was tested with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) and flow modulator. The addition of a real-time clock and remote port allowed the DTPS to be used as a standalone system with any GC x GC instrument. The DTPS-D-2 demonstrated improved match factor, reverse match factor, and signal-to-noise ratio when performing D-2 temperature programming.