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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Quantitative Detection of Trace Explosive Vapors by Programmed Temperature Desorption Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector
Published on: July 25, 2014
Detection of Essential Oil Adulteration Using High-Temperature Gas Chromatography with a Flame Ionization Detector
Michal Fulín1, Róbert Kubinec1, Jaroslav Blaško1
1Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Abstract:
Essential oils are natural products frequently subject to economically motivated adulteration with cheaper substances like vegetable oils, mineral oils, or organic solvents. This study developed and validated a rapid high-temperature gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (HTGC-FID) method for the simultaneous determination of high-boiling adulterants: triacylglycerides (vegetable oils) and medicinal white oil (mineral oil) in essential oils. The method utilizes on-column injection onto a DB-5 capillary column (30 m × 0.53 mm, 0.88 μm) with a temperature program from 60 to 380 °C and hydrogen carrier gas. Validation parameters demonstrated excellent linearity (R2 = 0.9957-0.9978), high repeatability (content RSD < 3%), and sufficient sensitivity (LOQ of 0.03% for triacylglycerides, and 0.63% for medicinal white oil). The method was successfully applied to 20 commercial essential oils. While medicinal white oil was undetected, several samples contained triacylglycerides (up to 3.79%) and other adulterants (up to 52%). Significantly reduced response factors confirmed extensive adulteration in some products. The proposed HTGC-FID method represents a simple, cost-effective, and efficient tool for routine quality control, enabling direct quantification of high-boiling adulterants without tedious sample preparation.
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