Capillary columns have changed the face of GC since their introduction about 35 years ago. The most obvious change involves resolving power: up to 50,000 theoretical plates on a 30-m capillary versus 1500 on a six-foot packed column.

Despite steadily losing ground to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) over the years, particularly for polar compounds, gas chromatography (GC) remains one of the more rapid and efficient chromatographic methods.

Today, the number of distinct GC column stationary phases has grown

Two interesting and fairly recent trends in GC systems are “fast GC” and the use of hydrogen as the carrier gas.

High-sensitivity analysis allows a wide variety of measurement modes, including MRM, scan, combination scan/MRM, and neutral loss scan

As samples become increasingly active and more complex, labs simply cannot afford interferences caused by flow path activity in their GCs. A non-inert flow path can cause peak tailing and signal loss. Users need the most inert flow path possible to achieve the lower detection limits demanded by increasingly tough regulatory obligations.

Developers of analytical instrumentation for food laboratories are constantly being kept on their toes—foremost by the competing technical advancements and expanding market demands inherent in their business, and also by the need to help customers comply with changing and more stringent regulatory requirements worldwide.

Streamlining workflows while improving accessibility