The use of non-splitting injection techniques for trace analysis in narrow-bore capillary gas chromatography

The use of hot splitless, cold splitless, and on-column injections for trace analysis in narrow-bore capillary GC is evaluated. Despite the low flow rates for the columns used, the required splitless times for splitless injections can be surprisingly short if liners with a small inside diameter are used. On-column injection can be applied by using an appropriate normal-bore precolumn coupled to the narrow-bore analytical column using a specially designed low dead volume column connector. The effects of the experimental conditions such as sample volume, injection temperature, and initial oven temperature on peak focusing and the discrimination and degradation behavior of the analytes are discussed. The possibilities to obtain sensitive and fast separations are illustrated by various applications