Qualitative and quantitative environmental analysis by capillary column gas chromatography/lightpipe Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry.

rn A new state-of-art commercial gas chromatography/ Fourier transform infrared (GC/FT-IR) lightpipe-containing system has been evaluated for its applicability to qualitative and quantitative environmental analysis of typical environmental contaminants. This system exhibited minimum identifiable quantities, for many compounds, in the 10-50-ng range. On a wide-bore capillary column, quantitation curves generated from chromatogram peak areas were linear over the 10-250-ng range. The mean correlation coefficient for 38 quantitation calibration curves on 24 standards was 0.976. The selectivity of the new system was evaluated with standards, soil, and stillbottom samples. It was demonstrated with 27 standards that no discernible loss in identification selectivity occurred when a narrow-band infrared detector (spectral cutoff 750 cm-l) was used in place of a midband detector (cutoff 700 cm-l). This allows the meaningful utilization of the extra sensitivity associated with narrower frequency range infrared detectors.