The early development of gas chromatography technology

—Excerpt from Fu Ruolong's Lecture on the Development History and Trends of Gas Chromatography Technology

Gas chromatography is an early and mature technology in the field of chromatography. Due to its fast, simple, relatively inexpensive, and good repeatability, it can analyze components in various matrices, such as petroleum and petrochemical products, environmental pollutants, drugs, food, etc. Moreover, because of the inherent high separation efficiency of gas chromatography and its ability to connect with various sensitive and selective detectors, gas chromatographs equipped with various detectors have become indispensable tools for component identification and analysis in various fields. The development of chromatography is accompanied by and promotes the process of technological revolution.

The third technological revolution (1940s and 1950s) occurred after World War II, during which capitalism implemented welfare systems and state monopoly capitalism, resulting in political stability. At the beginning of the 20th century, significant breakthroughs in scientific theory and the formation of a certain material and technological foundation led to a demand for high-tech such as petroleum, artificial synthetic materials, molecular biology, and genetic engineering. When studying these complex mixtures of substances, it is necessary to separate them and examine their performance. Therefore, various separation techniques must be developed, and chromatography is the most efficient method among separation techniques. So in the late 1940s and early 1950s, gas chromatography emerged with gas as the mobile phase and liquid or solid as the stationary phase. In 1955, PerkinElmer developed the first gas chromatograph. The birth of the first gas chromatograph has a legendary story.

Between 1953 and 1954, PerkinElmer's representative heard for the first time about gas chromatography pioneer A T. James and A.J.P. Martin conducted GC research at the British Medical Council laboratory in London, UK, and C.S.G. Phillips at the University of Oxford. PerkinElmer's representative subsequently visited their laboratory and learned the principles of this new technology. Based on this information, they launched a research and development plan for this instrument at their company headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1955, the world's first commercial gas chromatograph, Model 154 Vapor Fractometer, was finally launched.

At that time, the main feature of this instrument was the use of an air thermostat ("column box"), which allowed the separation chromatography column to maintain a constant temperature between room temperature and 150 ° C, and a fast evaporator, and adding a fast evaporator, liquid and gas samples can be delivered to the carrier gas using a syringe through a rubber spacer, as well as using a thermosensitive thermal conductivity detector. Meanwhile, PerkinElmer provides standard chromatography columns with extensive separation capabilities, allowing the instrument to successfully analyze various samples. This instrument immediately achieved success and was praised in an editorial in the American Journal of Analytical Chemistry (AC) as "a brilliant example of automated analysis", and the chromatograms it obtained were "pleasing to the eye". Shortly after the instrument was launched, PerkinElmer published a simple booklet explaining the principles of gas chromatography and how to select operating parameters. AC praises this booklet in a new editorial, calling it a "brief and informative summary" that helps "spread scientific and technological knowledge.". Of course, after the launch of Model 154, PerkinElmer's research and development work did not stop，in early 1956, an improved model was introduced, Model 154-B, which raised the operating temperature to 225 ° C on this new model of instrument, and a rotary valve and various quantitative injection tubes were available for gas injection. This measure is very eye-catching, and many companies now offer multi port injection and switching valve designs that can be traced back to the design of this valve.