title: Polydimethylsiloxane as a packing material in a programmed temperature vaporizer to introduce large-volume samples in capillary gas chromatography.
abstract: The viability of using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a retaining material inside a programmed temperature vaporizer injector for the introduction of large-volume samples in gas chromatography is assessed. To that end, materials made up of Volaspher A-2 and coated with different percentages of PDMS (5%, 15%, and 50%) are considered. In addition, adsorbent (Tenax TA) and absorbent (PDMS) materials are comparatively studied in terms of their retention capacity. A relative standard deviation lower than 5.0% is obtained from the injection of PDMS, whereas values up to 49% are provided by Tenax TA. Significantly higher amounts of different volatile compounds are retained by PDMS in comparison with Tenax TA. In conclusion, the use of PDMS as a packing material seems to be viable for large-volume sampling and particularly recommendable for minor compounds occurring in complex matrices.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Fermentaciones Industriales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herraiz
authors.forename: Gracia Patricia
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ruiz del Castillo