Dear Colleagues,

“Gas Chromatography (GC),” discusses GC fundamentals as well as common GC detectors: the flame ionization detector (FID), thermal conductivity cell detector (TCD), electron capture detector (ECD), and sulphur chemiluminescence detector (SCD). Another common GC detector is the mass spectrometer. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique that is used to elucidate molecular mass and molecular structure for compound identification and/or quantification. MS becomes a much more powerful technique when coupled with the separation capabilities of GC. GC-MS is a technique which is more complex than the other GC techniques and requires a detailed article of its own. GC-MS is often used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine organic compound purity and stability and to identify components in a mixture. GC-MS is commonly used in many disparate fields, including environmental chemistry for atmospheric, soil, and water research; forensic science for detection of drugs of abuse (or metabolites) and in arson fire debris analysis; food science for determination of food or beverage quality and authenticity; and in developing renewable fuels.