• Jirí Kubista, Patrik Spanel, Kseniya Dryahina, Clive Workman, and David Smith.
• J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejskova 3, 182 23 Prague 8, Czech Republic.
• Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2006 Jan 1; 20 (4): 563-7.

AbstractThe value of the gas chromatography (GC) and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) combination for the analysis of trace gases is demonstrated by the quantification of acetone in air samples using the three precursor ions available to SIFT-MS, viz. H3O+, NO+ and O2+, and by the separation of the isomers 1-propanol and 2-propanol, and their analysis using H3O+ precursor ions. It is shown that the GC/SIFT-MS combination allows for accurate trace gas quantification obviating the regular, time-consuming calibrations that are usually required for the more commonly used detectors of GC systems, and the positive identification of isomers in mixtures that is often challenging using SIFT-MS alone. Thus, the GC/SIFT-MS combination paves the way to more confident analyses of complex mixtures such as exhaled breath.Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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