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Direct gas injection method: A simple modification to an elemental analyzer/isotope ratio mass spectrometer for stable isotope analysis of N and C from N2O and CO2 gases in nanomolar concentrations
Citation:
Machavaram, M. V., J. J. Beaulieu, AND M. A. Mills. Direct gas injection method: A simple modification to an elemental analyzer/isotope ratio mass spectrometer for stable isotope analysis of N and C from N2O and CO2 gases in nanomolar concentrations. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Indianapolis, IN, 27(1):97-102, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
A simple modification to the Elemental Analyzer coupled to Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometer (EA-IRMS) setup is described. This modification allows the users to measure nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) by injecting the gases directly into an online injector placed before a homemade packed column in the elemental analyzer. We show that this method can produce accurate and reproducible stable isotope measurements with sample injection volumes ranging from 100 – 5000 µL containing between 20 and 1000 nmol of analyte. This simple, inexpensive method may be useful for the labs that do not have access to more advanced and expensive interphases to analyze nanomolar quantities of analytes from microbiological and ecological studies.
