Gas Chromatography (GC or GLC) is a commonly used analytic technique in many research and industrial laboratories for quality control as well as identification and quantitation of compounds in a mixture. GC is also a frequently used technique in many environmental and forensic laboratories because it allows for the detection of very small quantities. A broad variety of samples can be analyzed as long as the compounds are sufficiently thermally stable and reasonably volatile. How does gas chromatography work? Like for all other chromatographic techniques, a mobile and a stationary phase are required for this technique. The mobile phase (=carrier gas) is comprised of an inert gas i.e., helium, argon, or nitrogen. The stationary phase consists of a packed column in which the packing or solid support itself acts as stationary phase, or is coated with the liquid stationary phase (=high boiling polymer). Most analytical gas chromatographs use capillary columns, where the stationary phase coa...