The importance of GC and GC-MS in perfume analysis

• Autores: Arian van Asten
• Localización: Trac - trends in analytical chemistry, ISSN 0165-9936, Vol. 21, Nº 9, 2002, págs. 698-708
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) are by far the most important analytical techniques in the perfume industry. Both perfume houses (the suppliers) and the home and personal-care companies (the clients) rely primarily on GC and GC-MS for unraveling the composition of perfumes (i.e. perfume formulation), quality control, competitor analysis and trace analysis on substrates and in the headspace. State-of-the-art perfume formulation is based on perfume-specific Kovats Index (KI) and MS databases. By applying FID (flame-ionization detector) response-correction factors, the accuracy of the perfume-formulation process can be further improved. Because of the complexity of perfumes, use is made of GC columns and conditions that offer maximum resolution rather than minimum analysis time. Mass-spectral deconvolution tools can be very useful in identifying perfume ingredients from GC-MS data in cases of co-elution or strong matrix interference. By applying the MS detector in the selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode, GC-MS is very suitable for trace analysis of perfume ingredients, thus enabling the study of perfume efficacy during use of home and personal-care products. Recent developments in the field of comprehensive GC (i.e. GC×GC) also seem very promising for perfume analysis.