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Purge and Trap

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U-shaped modified purge trap for GC analysis
Purge trap for efficient GC analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

The purge and trap technique purges inert gas through the sample containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into an adsorbent trap. The VOCs are then desorbed from the trap by heating and transferring the analyte to the GC column. With minimal sample handling, this technique ensures reliable and reproducible results.

The purge and trap method is ideal for extracting and concentrating VOCs from water, soil, and sludges. The adsorbent filled trap (purge trap) allows the VOCs from the sample to be concentrated while managing the water vapor during the purge step or the desorb step (instrument dependent) to achieve low ppb (parts per billion) detection limits.

This technique is routinely utilized for environmental monitoring, analysis of flavors in food, and toxic compounds in bodily fluids.

Related Product Literature

Brochure: Gas Chromatography - Tools for Your Workflow

Purge Traps

For purge and trap analysis, the tubes are usually packed with multiple beds of adsorbent materials to trap a wide range of polar, non-polar, high, and low molecular weight compounds in a single tube. Each bed in the trap protects the succeeding active bed by preventing the strong adsorption of compounds.

Glassware and Accessories for Purge and Trap Analysis

We offer a variety of accessories and glassware for purge and trap analysis, including female Luer lock connectors, fritless purge samplers, sample valves, Hamilton® syringes, Thermogreen® LB-1 septa, male Luer lock connectors, gas sampling bulbs, PTFE Stopcock plugs, needle sparge glassware, and needle purge tubes.

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Solid phase microextraction (SPME) is a solvent-free sample preparation technique that uses coated fibers to extract analytes of interest from a sample before analysis by GC or HPLC.
Sample Preparation by Filtration
Filtration separates substances based on physical or chemical properties. Lab samples are routinely filtered before analysis to reduce sample complexity and increase analyte purity. This allows scientists to generate higher quality analytical results.
Sample Purification
A range of purification methods may be used to prepare a sample prior to downstream analysis. Purification reduces sample complexity, removes interferences, and concentrates an analyte before analysis.
QuEChERS Sample Preparation Method
QuEChERS is a ‘Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe’ sample cleanup method used to prepare food and agricultural samples for pesticides analysis. QuEChERS is based on the Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) technique of sample preparation.
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)
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Gas Chromatography (GC)
Gas chromatography is a common analytic technique used to separate and analyze volatile compounds in the gas phase. GC is applied in many industries for quality control, and to identify and/or quantify compounds in a mixture.
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