Gas chromatography in space

Akapo, Samuel O.; Dimandja, Jean Marie D.; Kojiro, Daniel R.; Valentin, J. R.; Carle, G. C.

doi:10.1016/s0021-9673(98)00947-9

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Analytical separations play a significant, although frequently behind-the-scenes role in virtually all branches of science, including fields as diverse as molecular biology [1,2], pharmaceutical development [3,4], forensics [5], space exploration [6,7], and environmental monitoring [8]. Linear techniques like chromatography and electrophoresis, in which fractionation is achieved by the differential migration of analytes along a column, dominate the field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric field gradient focusing

Kelly

Woolley²

2005

J of Separation Science

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Electric field gradient focusing (EFGF) is a relatively new separation technique with promising attributes, particularly for protein analysis. The fundamental fractionation mechanism in EFGF involves a gradient in electric field along the length of a separation column. The electrophoretic force that drives charged analytes in a region of changing electric field is opposed by a constant, pressure-driven bulk fluid flow. When the electrophoretic velocity of a particular moiety is equal and opposite to the velocity of the fluid flow, the analyte focuses into a stationary band. Thus, EFGF can both concentrate and separate charged species according to electrophoretic mobility. To date, the electric field gradients needed for EFGF have been established using a number of different approaches, including channels having changing cross-sectional areas, conductivity gradients caused by the diffusion of buffer ions across a membrane, electrode arrays, and temperature gradients in buffers whose conductivities change as a function of temperature. EFGF has proven particularly effective for sample enrichment, with concentration factors of 10,000 reported. In this article we review advances in EFGF technology and discuss prospects for further improving EFGF for chemical analysis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric field gradient focusing

Kelly

Woolley²

2005

J of Separation Science

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“…One of the crucial milestones in the development of GC was the introduction of chiral stationary phases (CSPs) by Gil‐Av in the following decade. At first extensively used for the analysis of petroleum, essential oils, and pharmaceutical products, it eventually invaded other scientific domains including space research and astrobiology …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enantioselective Gas Chromatography in Search of the Origin of Biomolecular Asymmetry in Outer Space

Myrgorodska

Javelle

Meinert

et al. 2016

Israel Journal of Chemistry

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Since the pioneering work of Emanuel Gil‐Av and his associates at the Weizmann Institute of Science the direct gas chromatographic resolution of enantiomers has found its application in different fields of natural sciences, even expanding to space research and astrobiology. In these domains the resolution of chiral molecules of prebiotic relevance is of particular interest, since the determination of ratios between l‐ and d‐enantiomers within non‐terrestrial samples is assumed to shed light on the origin of biomolecular homochirality and the beginnings of life itself. According to an astrophysical scenario, the first molecular symmetry breaking event occurred upon irradiation of chiral organic molecules with circularly polarized light present in the interstellar medium. To examine this hypothesis, among others, chiral gas chromatographic stationary phases have been widely used to provide the differentiation of enantiomers in extracts of meteorites, samples of simulated interstellar ices and Mars soil analogues. Moreover several chiral capillary columns have been selected for in situ analyses of extraterrestrial organic matter by Mars missions and the cometary Rosetta mission. This review will highlight current advances of enantioselective gas chromatography applied to space science.

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“…At present, a GC instrument is operating in the Cassini-Huygens mission, in order to study Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, whose cold, nitrogen-based atmosphere resembles that of the early Earth 5-7 . Moreover they must work automatically or under remote control 6 . Flight conditions impose specific requirements: GC equipment must have extremely low mass and consume little power, but must provide high efficiency, resolution, sensitivity and reliability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A GC subsystem (Cometary Sampling And Composition, COSAC) is installed on board the Rosetta lander launched on March 2, 2004 to explore the cometary nucleus: comets, the oldest bodies in the solar system, could be a potential reservoir of organic and inorganic molecules for the planets delivered by comet impacts during their evolution [8][9][10] . Energy economy requires limiting temperature and pressure so that only isothermal separation or slow increase temperature programming are allowed [6][7][8][9][10] . Moreover they must work automatically or under remote control 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Flight conditions impose specific requirements: GC equipment must have extremely low mass and consume little power, but must provide high efficiency, resolution, sensitivity and reliability. GC instruments are coupled with MS detectors to combine the advantages of chromatography (high selectivity and separation efficiency) with those of mass spectrometry (structural information) [6][7][8][9][10][11] . Energy economy requires limiting temperature and pressure so that only isothermal separation or slow increase temperature programming are allowed [6][7][8][9][10] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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GC—MS in Space Research: Decoding Complex Isothermal Chromatograms Recovered from Space Missions

2004

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An analytical procedure is described to study GC-MS isothermal chromatograms simulating those recovered from space missions: in fact GC plays a predominant role in space missions devoted to characterizing the chemical composition of extra-terrestrial atmospheres. SIM (selected ion monitoring) detection was used for monitoring selected chemical classes: a simplified chromatogram can be obtained giving information on the chemical composition of the complex mixture. Since only isothermal GC chromatograms are allowed by flight constraints, a time axis transformation is required to make them homogeneous: i.e., constant retention increments for CH2 additions in terms of a homologous series. The order in the linearized chromatogram can be simply singled out with a chemometric approach based on the study of the Autocovariance Function (ACVF) computed on the digitized chromatogram: the plot of the experimental autocorrelation function (EACF) shows well-shaped peaks if constant interdistances are repeated in different regions of the chromatogram. The method was applied to standard mixtures representative of planetary atmospheres--hydrocarbons, nitriles and oxygenated compounds with between 3 and 12 carbon atoms--analyzed in flight simulating conditions. The coupling of the selectivity of SIM detection with the interpretation power of the EACF procedure proves to be a powerful tool for interpreting data recovered from space missions: the chemical composition of the mixture can be identified by handling the raw SIM chromatograms.

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Gas chromatography in space

Cited by 19 publications

References 41 publications

Electric field gradient focusing

Electric field gradient focusing

Enantioselective Gas Chromatography in Search of the Origin of Biomolecular Asymmetry in Outer Space

GC—MS in Space Research: Decoding Complex Isothermal Chromatograms Recovered from Space Missions

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