Essential oils are plant-based products characterized by the presence of numerous compounds belonging to multiple chemical classes (alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, terpenes, etc.), in the order of hundreds, which affect the properties of the final product, determining its quality.
An analytical methodology capable of characterizing the chemical composition accurately and in detail is therefore desirable.
Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) represents a strategic choice: the simultaneous use of two independent columns with different selectivities increases separation power and reduces the number of co-elutions.
This work demonstrates the added value of GC×GC in combination with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) for the characterization and classification of essential oils.
GC×GC-TOFMS analyses were performed with the BenchTOF2-TI time-of-flight mass spectrometer (SepSolve Analytical).
Two different approaches were used for 2D separations:
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Thermal modulation: Loop thermal modulator with ZX2 closed-loop refrigeration unit (ZOEX Corporation)
- Flow modulation: Flow microfluidic platform - INSIGHT inverted differential flow modulator (SepSolve Analytical).