1. Background
  2. Data Collection Methods
  3. Data Quality Control
  4. Summary

PerkinElmer GC/MS with autosampler
Image source: courtesy R. Johnson

Quality Control: Instrumentation

To reduce uncertainty and variability in GC/MS and HPLC measurements, equipment should be checked regularly.

Equipment and supplies

  1. Regular maintenance and cleaning ensures that samples are not contaminated by residual analytes.
  2. Analysis of standard reference materials can be used to evaluate the quality of an analytical method (analyte extraction from the reference material and analysis/quantification by GC/MS or HPLC).
  3. Column selection and replacement: a column should provide good separation between the analytes of interest (i.e., peaks in a chromatogram do not overlap and are distinct). When a column is contaminated by residuals from another sample, chromatogram peaks are not as sharp and distinct and cleaning (by analyzing blanks) or replacement is needed.