Rapid Separation of Elemental Species by Fast Multicapillary Gas Chromatography with Multichannel Optical Spectrometry Detection following Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction

A method for conducting fast and efficient gas chromatography based on short multicapillaries in straight alignment combined with atomic emission detection was developed for field analysis. The strategy enables for speciation analysis of organometallic compounds. The analytes are simultaneously ethylated and preconcentrated on a solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber placed in the headspace over the sample for 25 min. The ethylated species are then completely separated and selectively quantified within 25 s under isothermal conditions. A new miniaturized speciation analyzer has been constructed and evaluated. The system consists of a GC injection port and a lab-made miniaturized GC unit directly coupled with miniaturized plasma excitation source. The emitted light is transferred via optical fiber and registered with a miniaturized charged coupled device (CCD) based spectrometer. Working parameters for multicapillary column gas chromatography with atomic emission detector, including carrier gas flow rate, desorption temperature, and GC column temperature, were optimized to achieve good separation of analytes. Basic investigations of the fundamental properties of 5 cm-long multicapillary column, to evaluate its potential and limitations as a rapid separation unit, are presented. The adaptation of the technique for use with a SPME system and with a multichannel element-selective plasmaemission detector is highlighted.