Comprehensive two dimensional gas chromatography review

Theoretical modeling and machine learning-based data processing workflows in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-A review

In recent years, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC) has been gradually gaining prominence as a preferred method for the analysis of complex samples due to its higher peak capacity and resolution power compared to conventional gas chromatography (GC). Nonetheless, to fully benefit from the capabilities of GC × GC, a holistic approach to method development and data processing is essential for a successful and informative analysis. Method development enables the fine-tuning of the chromatographic separation, resulting in high-quality data. While generating such data is pivotal, it does not necessarily guarantee that meaningful information will be extracted from it. To this end, the first part of this manuscript reviews the importance of theoretical modeling in achieving good optimization of the separation conditions, ultimately improving the quality of the chromatographic separation. Multiple theoretical modeling approaches are discussed, with a special focus on thermodynamic-based modeling. The second part of this review highlights the importance of establishing robust data processing workflows, with a special emphasis on the use of advanced data processing tools such as, Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. Three widely used ML algorithms are discussed: Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Partial Least Square-Discriminate Analysis (PLS-DA), highlighting their role in discovery-based analysis.

Candy-like heterojunction nanocomposite of WO3/Fe2O3-based semiconductor gas sensor for the detection of triethylamine

A highly efficient gas sensor for the detection of triethylamine based on candy-like WO₃/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite was prepared. The control of morphology and sensing performance of n-n heterojunction WO₃/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites were successfully achieved by the modulation of Fe element content. When the ratio of Fe to W is 0.4, the candy-like nanocomposite of WO₃/Fe₂O₃ with great performance is obtained. It is interesting that the candy-like nanocomposite of WO₃/Fe₂O₃ with a large specific surface area exhibits better selectivity and sensitivity for sensing TEA gases at a lower operating temperature (260 °C) compared with the gas sensor prepared by using WO₃ alone. To verify the feasibility, the sensing mechanism was investigated and real sample tests were conducted and discussed. Finally, a TEA gas sensor with low limit of detection, short response/recovery time (15/162 s), and high sensitivity was developed. In addition, the prepared gas sensor has satisfactory stability and selectivity and has practical application value.

Semiconductor Gas Sensor for Triethylamine Detection

With the demanding detection of unique toxic gas, semiconductor gas sensors have attracted tremendous attention due to their intriguing features, such as, high sensitivity, online detection, portability, ease of use, and low cost. Triethylamine, a typical gas of volatile organic compounds, is an important raw material for industrial development, but it is also a hazard to human health. This review presents a concise compilation of the advances in triethylamine detection based on chemiresistive sensors. Specifically, the testing system and sensing parameters are described in detail. Besides, the sensing mechanism with characterizing tactics is analyzed. The research status based on various chemiresistive sensors is also surveyed. Finally, the conclusion and challenges, as well as some perspectives toward this area, are presented.

Authentication of berries and berry-based food products

Berries represent one of the most important and high-valued group of modern-day health-beneficial "superfoods" whose dietary consumption has been recognized to be beneficial for human health for a long time. In addition to being delicious, berries are rich in nutrients, vitamins, and several bioactive compounds, including carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and hydrolysable tannins. However, due to their high value, berries and berry-based products are often subject to fraudulent adulteration, commonly for economical gain, but also unintentionally due to misidentification of species. Deliberate adulteration often comprises the substitution of high-value berries with lower value counterparts and mislabeling of product contents. As adulteration is deceptive toward customers and presents a risk for public health, food authentication through different methods is applied as a countermeasure. Although many authentication methods have been developed in terms of fast, sensitive, reliable, and low-cost analysis and have been applied in the authentication of a myriad of food products and species, their application on berries and berry-based products is still limited. The present review provides an overview of the development and application of analytical chemistry methods, such as isotope ratio analysis, liquid and gas chromatography, spectroscopy, as well as DNA-based methods and electronic sensors, for the authentication of berries and berry-based food products. We provide an overview of the earlier use and recent advances of these methods, as well as discuss the advances and drawbacks related to their application.

Dynamics of Molecules Observed at Crude-Oil-Gas Interfaces by Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) imaging provides molecular speciation at the micrometer scale, while the penetration depth of the primary ion beam is limited to the top-layers of a sample. These combined properties make TOF-SIMS potentially an ideal technique to study oil-gas interfaces. TOF-SIMS spectra of three crude oils were evaluated, and only low-mass fragment ions could be assigned to molecular structures unambiguously. Films of crude oils were incubated under air, oil vapor, or water vapor for various times. TOF-SIMS images of a polar crude oil revealed feeble structures of ∼10 μm large round patches that grew to ∼30 μm large crystals when incubated under air and oil vapor, respectively. Principal component analysis of the images showed that the continuous phase had typical aromatic signatures, while the patches and crystals had alkane-like characteristics. No features showed up when the oil film was incubated under water vapor, which indicated that saturated water vapor prevented the accumulation of nonpolar alkane-like compounds at the oil-gas interface. These examples showed that crude oils do not behave as dead fluids but that their constituents accumulate at the oil-gas interfaces in a dynamic way.

Quantitative gas composition analysis method for a wide pressure range up to atmospheric pressure-CO2 plasma case study

A mass spectrometer with a custom sampling system comprising one fixed and one variable orifice is presented. The custom sampling system allows the determination of the gas composition in the pressure range from 5 mbar to 1000 mbar, with low gas-demixing (<1.5%). A case study of mass spectrometer optimization and calibration for the measurement of relative concentration of CO₂, CO, O₂, and N₂ gases is presented, together with an example of the CO₂ conversion at a microwave plasma torch. The absolute error of the measured conversion of CO₂ in CO is found to be less than 1.6% in the complete pressure range. The conversion determination routine presented here allows us to determine relative molar flows of CO₂, CO, O₂, and N₂ and to distinguish between CO and N₂ gases, which is important for the determination of the CO₂ conversion in the case of air impurities or in the case of CO₂/N₂ mixtures.

Parallel gradients in comprehensive multidimensional liquid chromatography enhance utilization of the separation space and the degree of orthogonality when the separation mechanisms are correlated

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC×LC) offers increased peak capacity, resolution and selectivity compared to one-dimensional liquid chromatography. It is commonly accepted that the technique produces the best results when the separation mechanisms in the two dimensions are completely orthogonal, which necessitates the use of gradient elution for each second-dimension fraction. Recently, the use of similar separation mechanisms in both dimensions has been gaining popularity, but full or shifted gradients are still used for each second dimension fraction. Herein, we argue that when the separation mechanisms are correlated in the two dimensions, the best results can be obtained with the use of parallel gradients in the second dimension, which makes the technique nearly as user-friendly as comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. This has been illustrated through the separation of a mixture of 39 pharmaceutical compounds using reversed phase in both dimensions. Different selectivity in the second dimension was obtained through the use of different stationary phase chemistries and/or mobile phase organic modifiers. The best coverage of the separation space was obtained when parallel gradients were applied in both dimensions, and the same was true for practical peak capacity.

Analysis of defensive secretion of a milkweed bug Lygaeus equestris by 1D GC-MS and GC×GC-MS: sex differences and host-plant effect

The composition of defensive secretion produced by metathoracic scent glands was analysed in males and females of the milkweed bug Lygaeus equestris (Heteroptera) using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). The bugs were raised either on cardenolide-containing Adonis vernalis or on control sunflower seeds in order to determine whether the possibility to sequester cardenolides from their host plants would affect the composition of defensive scent-gland secretion. Profiles of the composition of defensive secretions of males and females raised on sunflower were closely similar, with predominant presence of (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-octen-1-ol, decanal and 3-octen-1-ol acetate. The secretion of bugs raised on A. vernalis was more sexually dimorphic, and some chemicals e.g. (E,E)-2,4-hexadienyl acetate and 2-phenylethyl acetate were dominant in males, but absent in females. Compared to bugs from sunflower, the scent-gland secretion of bugs raised on A. vernalis was characterized by lower overall intensity of the peaks obtained for detected chemicals and by absence of some chemicals that have supposedly antipredatory function ((E)-2-hexenal, (E)-4-oxo-hex-2-enal, 2,4-octadienal). The results suggest that there might be a trade-off between the sequestration of defensive chemicals from host plants and their synthesis in metathoracic scent-glands.

Retention time prediction of hydrocarbons in cryogenically modulated comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography: A method development and translation application

Thermodynamic modeling of GC × GC separations provides a tool for rapid method evaluation and optimization. Separations of 95 hydrocarbons on two cryogenically modulated GC × GC systems (atmospheric outlet and vacuum outlet) are modeled, displaying average second dimension retention time modeling absolute errors of 0.17 s and 0.12 s respectively, and generating modeled chromatograms which sufficiently represent experimental data. A web-based GC × GC modeling routine is presented which allows users to model separations, currently focused on hydrocarbons, with full control over all system parameters. The method translation capabilities of the application are further demonstrated by replicating Piotrowski et al.'s GC × GC-HRT temporal distribution plots of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluid hydrocarbons [28].

Uniformity and Sensitivity Improvements in Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography Using Flame Ionization Detection with Post-Column Reaction

A 3D-printed microreactor for post-column reactions was successfully integrated with comprehensive two -dimensional  gas chromatography. A two-stage post-column reaction provided a carbon-independent response, enhanced the flame ionization detection uniformity, and improved the detector sensitivity. These enhancements are critical to overcome challenges in analyses using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and flame ionization detection, which aim to separate and quantify multiple components. Post-column reaction flame ionization detection eliminated the requirement of multilevel and multicompound calibration, it enabled the determination of target analytes with a single-carbon-containing calibration compound with an accuracy of ±10%, and it improved the sensitivity for compounds that were not efficiently ionized by flame ionization detection. Extra column band-broadening caused by the incorporation of the 3D-printed microreactor was minimized using optimized reactor operating parameters and intercolumn connectivity. Chromatographic fidelity was in the practical domain of comprehensive 2D gas chromatography. Typical peak widths at half-height using the described approach ranged from 165 to 235 ms for probe compounds with retention factors spanning 5 < k < 40.

Advantages of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for comprehensive analysis of potential migrants from food contact materials

All substances migrating from food contact materials (FCMs), such as packagings, into food must be safe. This presupposes comprehensive analysis of all constituents potentially reaching a concentration in food that may be of toxicological concern. There is no single technique meeting this task and usually several need to be combined. In many cases, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) is the best technique available to start with. It provides high resolution and an overview in well-structured plots, grouping similar substances in a manner facilitating identifications. Further, flame ionization detection (FID) enables approximate quantitation without standards, and electron impact (EI) fragmentation in mass spectrometry (MS) provides access to large libraries for identification. GC is limited in amenable molecular mass, but the characterization of the lower mass constituents is usually helpful also for the identification of higher mass ones by techniques like HPLC-MS. The scope of this paper is to advocate the use of GCxGC for comprehensive migrate analysis, based on advantages illustrated by examples.

Resistance-based H2S gas sensors using metal oxide nanostructures: A review of recent advances

Gas sensors play an undeniable role in most fields of technology in the modern world; they are broadly used for public safety, pollution monitoring, quality control, breath analysis, smart homes and automobiles, and so on. Due to their low cost, high sensitivity, compact size, online detection, ease of use, portability, and low power consumption, metal oxide (MO) gas sensors have exceptional potential for detection of more than 150 gases. This paper reviews the current state-of-the-art H₂S conductometric MO gas sensors. In the first part, the H₂S sensing mechanism for MOs is presented in detail. In the next part, the H₂S sensing characteristics of the different MOs are presented, focusing on strategies such as metal doping, heterojunction composites, and different morphologies that are applied to enhance their sensing characteristics. In general, CuO, ZnO, and SnO₂ show the highest sensitivity to H₂S; therefore, most of this review is dedicated to these oxides. In the last part, some unusual and emerging MOs for H₂S sensing are presented.

Advances in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics for investigation of metabolites

Metabolomics is the systematic study of all the metabolites present within a biological system, which consists of a mass of molecules, having a variety of physical and chemical properties and existing over an extensive dynamic range in biological samples. Diverse analytical techniques are needed to achieve higher coverage of metabolites. The application of mass spectrometry (MS) in metabolomics has increased exponentially since the discovery and development of electrospray ionization and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization techniques. Significant advances have also occurred in separation-based MS techniques (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry, and ion mobility-mass spectrometry), as well as separation-free MS techniques (direct infusion-mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry, mass spectrometry imaging, and direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry) in the past decades. This review presents a brief overview of the recent advanced MS techniques and their latest applications in metabolomics. The software/websites for MS result analyses are also reviewed.

Metabolomics is the systematic study of all the metabolites present within a biological system, supply functional information and has received extensive attention in the field of life sciences.

Improved Flow Modulator Construction for GC × GC with Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Improvement and testing of a flow modulator for the application in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography separations is the subject of the presented paper. This improved setup constructed from two independent capillary branches each consisting of a pressure regulator, a pressure sensor, a two-way solenoid valve and a microfluidic T-connector, allows an independent and easy settings of the pressures and flow velocities in the modulator and provides system flexibility in an operation without need of any component exchange. The estimated flow rates were 0.4 mL/min in the first column and 3.2 mL/min in the second column. This setup was compared with the commercial Zoex cryogenic modulator for the separation of 17 selected solvents at isothermal conditions. Modulator working conditions were optimized and its separation power was demonstrated on the analysis of a lavender extract under an application of two orthogonal capillary column sets (nonpolar-polar vs. polar-nonpolar) and temperature program. The results were evaluated by two commercial software packages and discussed with respect to the identification compliance.

Comprehensive Chemical Fingerprinting of High-Quality Cocoa at Early Stages of Processing: Effectiveness of Combined Untargeted and Targeted Approaches for Classification and Discrimination

This study investigates chemical information of volatile fractions of high-quality cocoa (Theobroma cacao L. Malvaceae) from different origins (Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Columbia, Java, Trinidad, and Sao Tomè) produced for fine chocolate. This study explores the evolution of the entire pattern of volatiles in relation to cocoa processing (raw, roasted, steamed, and ground beans). Advanced chemical fingerprinting (e.g., combined untargeted and targeted fingerprinting) with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry allows advanced pattern recognition for classification, discrimination, and sensory-quality characterization. The entire data set is analyzed for 595 reliable two-dimensional peak regions, including 130 known analytes and 13 potent odorants. Multivariate analysis with unsupervised exploration (principal component analysis) and simple supervised discrimination methods (Fisher ratios and linear regression trees) reveal informative patterns of similarities and differences and identify characteristic compounds related to sample origin and manufacturing step.

Characterization of odorous contaminants in post-consumer plastic packaging waste using multidimensional gas chromatographic separation coupled with olfactometric resolution

The increasing world population with their growing consumption of goods escalates the issue of sustainability concepts with increasing demands in recycling technologies. Recovery of post-consumer packaging waste is a major topic in this respect. However, contamination with odorous constituents currently curtails the production of recycling products that meet the high expectations of both consumers and industry. To guarantee odor-free recyclates, the main prerequisite is to characterize the molecular composition of the causative odorants in post-consumer plastic packaging waste. However, targeted characterization of odorous trace contaminants among an abundance of volatiles is a major challenge and requires specialized and high-resolution analytical approaches. For this aim, post-consumer packaging waste was characterized by sensory analysis and two-dimensional high resolution gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and olfactometry. The 33 identified odorants represent various structural classes as well as a great diversity of smell impressions with some of the compounds being identified in plastics for the first time. Substances unraveled within this study provide insights into sources of odorous contamination that will require specific attention in the future in terms of screening and prevention in recycling products.

Recent advances in the application of 2-dimensional gas chromatography with soft and hard ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry in environmental analysis

Two-dimensional gas chromatography has huge power for separating complex mixtures. The principles of the technique are outlined together with an overview of detection methods applicable to GC × GC column effluent with a focus on selectivity. Applications of GC × GC techniques in the analysis of petroleum-related and airborne particulate matter samples are reviewed. Mass spectrometric detection can be used alongside spectral libraries to identify eluted compounds, but in complex petroleum-related and atmospheric samples, when used conventionally at high ionisation energies, may not allow differentiation of structural isomers. Available low energy ionisation methods are reviewed and an example given of the additional structural information which can be extracted by measuring mass spectra at both low and high ionisation energies, hence greatly enhancing the selectivity of the technique.