Tech Insights

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Last updated May 16, 2025, generated by Sumble

What is gas chromatography/mass spectrometry?

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is an analytical technique that combines the separation capabilities of gas chromatography with the identification power of mass spectrometry. GC separates volatile compounds based on their boiling points and interactions with a stationary phase, while MS identifies the separated compounds by fragmenting them into ions and measuring their mass-to-charge ratios. GC/MS is widely used for identifying and quantifying different substances within a test sample, particularly organic compounds. Common applications include environmental monitoring, food safety analysis, drug detection, and forensic science.

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What other technologies are related to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry?

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry Competitor Technologies

atomic absorption

Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) is an elemental analysis technique that, like GC-MS, can be used for quantitative determination of specific elements in a sample. It competes with GC-MS in some elemental analysis applications.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 52% (509) of relevant job posts

liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

LC-MS is a technique used to analyze non-volatile compounds, whereas GC-MS is generally used for volatile compounds. Therefore, LC-MS competes with GC-MS for the analysis of organic compounds depending on volatility.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 28% (160) of relevant job posts

ICP

ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) techniques, such as ICP-OES or ICP-MS, are primarily used for elemental analysis, similar to atomic absorption, and can compete with GC-MS in certain applications where elemental composition is of primary interest rather than molecular structure.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 6% (509) of relevant job posts

liquid chromatography

Liquid chromatography is a separation technique used to separate compounds in liquid form; when coupled with mass spectrometry, it is a direct competitor to GC-MS for compounds that are not easily volatilized.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 3% (78) of relevant job posts

gas chromatography/mass spectrometry Complementary Technologies

High Resolution preparation and analysis

High resolution mass spectrometry provides accurate mass measurements which can be used to determine the elemental composition of a molecule. High resolution preparation techniques can improve the results of the GC-MS analysis.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 98% (270) of relevant job posts

Low Resolution preparation and analysis

Low resolution preparation techniques may be sufficient for GC-MS analysis. GC-MS itself can be considered a low resolution analytical technique when compared to High Resolution MS.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 100% (260) of relevant job posts

gas chromatography

Gas chromatography (GC) is the separation technique used in GC-MS. It separates volatile organic compounds based on their boiling points and affinity for the stationary phase.

mentioned alongside gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 13% (663) of relevant job posts