Gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry to analyze trace-level organic compounds in the environment, food safety and toxicology

作者：Hernandez Felix^*; Portoles Tania; Pitarch Elena; Lopez Francisco J

来源：TrAC-Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2011, 30(2): 388-400.

DOI：10.1016/j.trac.2010.11.007

• Biological sample
• Drug of abuse
• Environment
• Food safety
• Gas chromatography
• High resolution
• Mass spectrometry
• Non-target screening
• Target screening
• Time of flight
• Water

Gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of flight mass spectrometry (GC-HR-TOF-MS) is a powerful analytical technique with excellent capabilities due to its high sensitivity in full-spectrum-acquisition mode together with its resolving power and accurate-mass measurements. These features make this technique very attractive in qualitative analysis, especially for wide-scope screening of a large number of organic contaminants and residues at trace levels.
Full-spectrum MS allows data processing, in principle, of an unlimited number of compounds in samples, as no analyte-specific information is required before the injection. Also, as all data remain available, retrospective analysis is always possible without the need to reinject the sample - an important advantage of full-spectrum MS techniques. Despite these advantages, GC-HR-TOF-MS has rarely been applied, so we expect promising results in different applied fields in the years ahead.
We discuss in detail the characteristics and the potential of GC-HR-TOF-MS. We describe different analytical strategies from wide-scope target screening to investigation of unknowns in biology, the environment and food safety. Recent instrumental developments (e.g., high-speed analog-to-digital converter or soft ionization sources) and advances in software for processing the huge amount of data available open up new prospects, making GC-TOF-MS one of the most promising techniques to investigate the presence of organic compounds in different fields.

• 出版日期2011-2