Analysis of volatile organic compounds
First Claim
1. In a method of analysis in a gas chromatographic system for volatile organic compounds in a sample, the step ofremotely and independently of the gas chromatographic system trapping the volatile organic compounds in the sample by adsorbing them on a porous polymer consisting essentially of 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide, said polymer having properties of high affinity for organic volatiles being hydrophobic, having temperature stability up to about 400°
- C., having good desorptivity, and being relatively inert to the sample, whereby such trapped volatile organic compounds are retained;
for later chromatographic analysis.
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Abstract
System and method for reproducibly analyzing, both qualitatively and quantitatively, trace amounts of a large number of organic volatiles existing in a gas sample. Applications include (1) analyzing the headspace gas of body fluids and comparing a profile of the oganic volatiles with standard profiles for the detection and monitoring of disease, (2) analyzing the headspace gas of foods and beverages and comparing a profile of the organic volatiles with standard profiles so that flavor and aroma can be monitored and controlled, and (3) similar analysis for determining the organic pollutants in samples of water and air.
The system includes a novel means (sample trap) for capturing and enriching the organic volatiles, a novel injector port for directly injecting the entrapped organic volatiles to a cryogenic percolumn to provide a sharply defined plug, and a novel capillary separating column. Various detectors may be utilized to identify the separated volatiles.
The sample trap contains a solid adsorbent having the following properties: (1) high affinity for volatile organic compounds, (2) hydrophobic, (3) temperature stability up to 400° C, (4) good desorption capability and (5) relative inertness to the sample. A porous material based on a polymer of 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide (PPPO) and sold under the trademark TENAX-GC is particularly suited for this purpose. The injector port is formed of a hollow body having inlet and outlet ports. The sample trap is inserted into the body and maintained in sealed engagement with the outlet port. The injector port is placed into an injector heater of a gas chromatograph (GC) to effect desorption of the entrapped volatiles. Helium gas is introduced at the inlet port to carry the organic volatiles directly into the cryogenic precolumn. The GC capillary separating column is formed of etched nickel which facilitates the separation of a large number of specific organic compounds from a very small amount of organic volatiles.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. In a method of analysis in a gas chromatographic system for volatile organic compounds in a sample, the step of
remotely and independently of the gas chromatographic system trapping the volatile organic compounds in the sample by adsorbing them on a porous polymer consisting essentially of 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide, said polymer having properties of high affinity for organic volatiles being hydrophobic, having temperature stability up to about 400° - C., having good desorptivity, and being relatively inert to the sample, whereby such trapped volatile organic compounds are retained;
for later chromatographic analysis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
- C., having good desorptivity, and being relatively inert to the sample, whereby such trapped volatile organic compounds are retained;
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28. A method of analyzing volatile organic compounds in a sample comprising,
trapping the volatile organic compounds by adsorbing them on a porous polymer consisting essentially of 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide in a trap, connecting the trap to a cryogenically cooled precolumn of a gas chromatograph thermally desorbing without artifacts the adsorbed volatile organic compounds from the polymer in the trap, and transferring them to the precolumn and, transferring the volatile organic compounds from the precolumn to a separating column of the gas chromatograph for analysis.
Specification