Innovators of High Resolution
Chromatography Products
the
in this issue
Rt-Msieve
™
5A&MXT
®
-5A
PLOT Columns
…pg. 5
HPLCAnalysis of
Narcotic/AcetaminophenMixtures
…pg. 6–7
More Reliable Results from
Semivolatiles Analysis
…pg. 8–9
NewAnalytical ReferenceMaterials
…pg. 9
Scotty
®
Transportables
…pg. 10
Order ChemService Pesticides from
Restek
…pg. 11
Polar Analytes by HPLC/
Replacement Instrument Parts
…pg. 12–13
Super-Clean
™
Gas-Trapping
System for LC/MS
…pg. 14
NewReference Books
…pg. 14
Cool Tools
…pg. 15
Behind the Scenes
…pg. 16
800-356-1688
814-353-1300
2002
vol.3
by Frank Dorman, Ph.D., Innovations Team, Director of Technical Development
OptimizedAnalysis of
BrominatedFlameRetardants
Using an Rtx
®
-500GCCapillary Column
Advantage
Rtx
®
-500 GC
Capillary Column
…pg. 1–2
Vespel
®
Ring Inlet Seal
…pg. 3
Leak Detective
™
II
Electronic Leak Detector
…pg. 3
Bringing Packed Column
Technology Back to Life
…pg. 4
✔
Elutes decabromodiphenyl ether in 30minutes.
✔
Low bleed for sensitive ECD andMS analyses.
✔
Separates other highermolecular weight compounds.
new
Brominated flame retardants are an emerging envi-
ronmental concern that present a unique challenge
to analysts. One of themost heavily used types of
brominated flame retardants are the polybrominat-
ed diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). These compounds
have the structure shown in Figure 1, with 1 to 10
bromines substituted on the two rings. Thismakes
these compounds fairly heavy (up to approximately
1000amu), thus placing difficult requirements on
the gas chromatographic (GC) analytical system.
While the analysismay be performed using either
electron capture detection (ECD) ormass spectro-
metric detection (MS), the compounds require a
high oven temperature to elute in a reasonable
amount of time. This requires an analytical GC col-
umn featuring high-temperature fused silica or
metal tubing and a high-temperature stationary
phase that has both low bleed and the selectivity
necessary to separate the PBDE congeners.
Restek chemists, working in conjunctionwith Karen
MacPherson and Eric Reiner at the OntarioMinistry
of the Environment, have developed a new fused sil-
ica capillary GC column and analytical procedure
for separating PBDE congeners in a reasonable
time. The newRtx
®
-500 column incorporates a
carborane-stabilized polydimethylsiloxane polymer
in special high-temperature fused silica tubing. The
column can be heated to 380°C, and exhibits very
low bleed at this extreme temperature. The column
combines the stability required for separating high-
ermolecular weight compounds with the sensitivity
required for ECD orMS analysis.
PBDE congeners up to decabromodiphenyl ether
(PBDE 209) are separated in less than 45minutes
Figure 1
PBDEs can have highmolecular weight, due
to bromine substitution around the two rings.
using the newRtx
®
-500 column in a GC-high resolu-
tionMS analysis (Figure 2). In a GC-ECD analysis of
the same PBDE congeners, decabromodiphenyl
ether is eluted in 30minutes. This same system has
been used for baseline separation of toxic PCB con-
geners and is currently under investigation for analy-
ses of the brominated and chlorinated dioxins and
furans. If youmust analyze PBDEs or other high
molecular weight compounds, we highly recommend
the Rtx
®
-500 column for fast separations and reli-
able quantitation.
(contd. on page 2)
