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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Simple In-House Ultra-High Performance Capillary Column Manufacturing with the FlashPack Approach
Published on: December 4, 2021
Polydimethylsiloxane as a packing material in a programmed temperature vaporizer to introduce large-volume samples in
Gema Flores1, Marta Herraiz, Gracia Patricia Blanch
1Instituto de Fermentaciones Industriales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
The viability of using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a retaining material inside a programmed temperature vaporizer injector for the introduction of large-volume samples in gas chromatography is assessed. To that end, materials made up of Volaspher A-2 and coated with different percentages of PDMS (5%, 15%, and 50%) are considered. In addition, adsorbent (Tenax TA) and absorbent (PDMS) materials are comparatively studied in terms of their retention capacity. A relative standard deviation lower than 5.0% is obtained from the injection of PDMS, whereas values up to 49% are provided by Tenax TA. Significantly higher amounts of different volatile compounds are retained by PDMS in comparison with Tenax TA. In conclusion, the use of PDMS as a packing material seems to be viable for large-volume sampling and particularly recommendable for minor compounds occurring in complex matrices.
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