This application describes methods for the analysis of a variety of phenols using an Agilent 6890 Plus GC system and 5973N MS detector with high resolution and fast quantitative methods. The provided analysis methods are useful for definitive assignment of the identity of phenols present in the analysis samples and for quantitative analysis of phenols.
This document presents comprehensive retention time locking (RTL) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods designed to analyze more than 50 phenols and their common internal standards. The RTL technique ensures that retention times for these compounds remain universal and permanent across different laboratories using Agilent 6890 Plus Gas Chromatographs and 5973N Mass Selective Detectors, even after routine column maintenance like trimming or replacement.
Two specific methods were developed for both DB-XLB and DB-5ms columns: a high-resolution method with analysis times of 31 and 21 minutes respectively, and a rapid "Fast Quant" method reducing runtimes to 16 and 14 minutes. These low-bleed columns provide excellent separation of phenols, facilitating definitive identity assignments among various isomers that may be present in environmental samples.
The Fast Quant method runtimes are reduced to 16 minutes for the DB-XLB column and 14 minutes for the DB-5ms column.
The total program time for the High Resolution method using the DB-XLB column is 30.67 minutes.