Gas Chromatography
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Gas chromatography (GC) is an instrumental technique used forensically in drug analysis, arson, toxicology, and the analyses of other organic compounds. GC exploits the fundamental properties common to all types of chromatography, separation based on selective partitioning of compounds between different phases of materials. Here, one phase is an inert gas—helium (He), hydrogen (H2), or nitrogen (N2)—that is referred to as the mobile phase (or carrier gas), and the other is a waxy material (called the stationary phase) that is coated on a solid support material found within the chromatographic column. In older GC systems, the stationary phase was coated on tiny beads and packed into glass columns with diameters about the same as a pencil and lengths of 6 to 12 feet, wound into a coil. The heated gas flowed over the beads, allowing contact between sample molecules in the gaseous mobile phase and the stationary phase. Called “packed column chromatographs,” these instruments were widely used for drug, toxicology, and arson analysis. Around the mid-1980s, column chromatography began to give way to capillary column GC, in which the liquid phase is coated onto the inner walls of a thin capillary tube (about the diameter of a thin spaghetti noodle) that can be anywhere from 15 to 100 meters long, also wound into a coil. Capillary column chromatography represented a significant advance in the field and greatly improved the ability of columns to separate the multiple components found in complex drug and arson samples. However, a few applications still require packed columns.
The purpose of the gas chromatograph is to separate mixtures into individual components that can be detected and measured one at a time. A plot of the detector output is called a chromatogram, which charts the detector’s response as a function of time, showing the separate components. The separation occurs based on differences in affinities for the two phases. As shown in the figure, the sample is introduced into the GC column by way of a heated injector, which volatilizes all three components and introduces them into the gas flowing over the stationary phase. In this example, the compound represented by the arrowhead has the least affinity for the stationary phase. As a result, it moves ahead of the other two components and will reach the detector first. The compound symbolized by the diamond has the greatest affinity for the stationary phase and spends the most time associated with it. As a result, this compound will be the last to reach the detector. Separation has been achieved based on the different affinities of the three types of molecules found in the sample. In reality, complex mixtures cannot always be completely separated, with some compounds emerging from the column simultaneously. This is called coelution, which can often be overcome using detectors such as mass spectrometers (MS).
In most forensic applications of GC, a sample is prepared by dissolving it in a solvent, and the solution is injected into the instrument using a syringe. For example, to analyze a white powder suspected of being cocaine, a small portion is weighed out and dissolved in a solvent such as methylene chloride, methanol, or chloroform. A tiny portion of the sample is then drawn up into a syringe and injected into the heated injector port of the instrument. The mobile phase gas (called the carrier gas) also enters the injector port, picking up the volatilized sample and introducing it into the column where the separation process occurs. If the sample contains cocaine, it will emerge from the column at a given time (known as the retention time) that can be compared to the retention time of a known standard sample of cocaine. The retention time in conjunction with information obtained from the detector is used to positively identify the compound as cocaine if indeed it is present. Another method of sample introduction for GC is called pyrolysis, in which a solid sample such as a fiber or paint chip is heated in a special sample holder to extreme temperatures, causing the sample to decompose into gaseous components that can then be introduced into the GC. Pyrolysis is used when the sample is not readily soluble in common GC solvents.
A number of different detectors are available for use in gas chromatography. In forensic applications, the most commonly used are mass spectrometry (often abbreviated as MSD for mass selective detector), flame ionization (FID), and nitrogen-phosphorus (NPD). The MSD is the most common of the three, principally because it can provide definitive identification of compounds (in almost all cases) along with quantitative information. The FID is used in arson cases because of its sensitivity to hydrocarbons, the primary ingredient in most accelerants. The NPD is used in drug analysis and toxicology.
One of the advantages of chromatographic systems such as GC is the ability to provide both qualitative information (identification of individual components) and quantitative information (concentrations of individual components). If the instrument is properly calibrated, it can be used to determine quantities of materials present in samples, and this is commonly done in drug analysis. For example, the purity of a drug sample seized as evidence can provide important information and may be used as part of the prosecution. Similarly, when a sample of plastic or a fiber is analyzed by pyrolysis GC, the relative abundance of the individual components can be useful in creating a chemical signature or fingerprint of that particular sample.
