Introducing SLB®-ILPAH Capillary GC Columns

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment. They belong to a group known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Monitoring is important because they are identified as carcinogens. Multiple isomers exist, which are difficult to resolve chromatographically. SLB-ILPAH is a special purpose column based on an ionic liquid stationary phase. A distinct combination of stationary phase selectivity and efficient column dimensions allow exceptional resolution of PAHs, including several isomer sets.

Resolution Test
Every SLB-ILPAH column is specialty tested to ensure it meets stringent resolution requirements. Figure 1 depicts a chromatogram obtained from analysis of the QC test mix. Each column must pass resolution criteria for several sets of PAHs. The resolution (R_s) results obtained from this chromatogram are also listed in Figure 1.

22-Component PAH Mix
Multiple regulatory agencies around the world have promulgated methodologies for the analysis of PAHs. The number of analytes listed in these methods range from 16 to 24. To present data more accurately aligned with real-world usage, a 22-component PAH mix which contains the most frequently listed PAHs was analysed on an SLB-ILPAH column. The resulting chromatogram is shown in Figure 2. The significant finding is that this column has the necessary selectivity to provide exceptional resolution for several sets of PAHs, such as peaks 5 & 6, peaks 9 & 10, and peaks 12, 13 & 14. Also of great interest is that this column can provide baseline separation of dibenzo [a,h] anthracene (peak 16) and indeno [1,2,3-cd]perylene (peak 17). This last pair typically co-elutes on other columns and requires the use of mass spectrometry (MS) for proper identification.

Related Information
Additional chromatograms, product information, real-time availability, and ordering information is available here.