Free Webinar
Introduction to Gas Chromatography

The first activity in the Year of Education is a series of free educational webinars, run in conjunction by separationsNOW and Chromedia. In the first webinar, Professor Harold McNair gives an interactive lecture on the basics of gas chromatography.

This first webinar is intended for persons who:

• Use chromatography and would like to revisit the basics of GC.
• Have a little knowledge and would like to learn more!

Some knowledge of general and organic chemistry is assumed. The webinar should prove useful to technicians, students, graduate students, PhDs and even professors planning to work with GC.

Topics discussed are:

• Definitions of GC
• Separation principles
• Advantages and limitations of GC
• Basic instrumental components of a GC
• Capillary columns
• Three detectors: FID,TCD and ECD

Questions were asked during the live session. Professor McNair will provide answers to all questions soon on the Chromedia website. In the meantime, why not test yourself on these FAQ?

• When using the split injection technique, does the software account for the split and adjust the area count accordingly?
• Are there columns that would make higher MW samples or samples that are not volatile amenable to analysis by GC?
• What are the advantages of using constant flow and constant pressure for column flow rates?
• What are the advantages of using a mega bore column?
• What s the best way to troubleshoot leaks in GC? What kind of problems indicate a leak could be present?
• What is an acceptable loss in plate count (N) before changing the column.
• What factors affect GC reproducibility?

Your presenter:

Professor Harold McNair Professor Emeritus of Analytical Chemistry Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA