title: Retention time correction in gas chromatography by modeling concentration related effects, applied to the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters.
abstract: Constant and reproducible retention times are a basic requirement to allow the automatic peak assignment in complex gas chromatograms. Drifting retention times are best handled by frequent updates, based on reference peaks. Some refinements of this concept have been reported as well as alternative concepts, including pattern recognition algorithms to achieve ultimate precision; however, in applications requiring a wide concentration range, the effects of concentration on the retention time of individual peaks may become relevant, requiring special considerations. The analysis of fatty acid methyl esters is such an application. A model describing concentration related effects was drawn up and found to work best for this purpose. The precision of peak alignment could be improved by an order of magnitude, allowing reliable automation of routine analysis.
authors.affiliation: Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Institute for Food Safety Linz, Wieningerstr. 8, Linz, 4020, Austria. Electronic address: rudolf.kapeller@ages.at.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kapeller
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D008962:Models, Theoretical
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D005227:Fatty Acids
keywords: Fatty acid analysis; Gas chromatography; Peak alignment; Retention time correction; Retention time modeling; Trans fatty acids