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Poster Presentations
Day 3, June 24（Tue.）
Room P (Maesato East, Foyer, Ocean Wing)
- 3P-PM-42
A Study on the Use of Nitrogen as an Alternative Gas to Helium in Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) for Forensic Toxicology
(1Okinawa Prefectural Police, 2Univ. Ryukyus, 3Yokohama City Univ.)
oKazumichi Kakazu1,2, Kenji Ninomiya2, Chiaki Fuke3, Natsuki Ikematsu2, Maki Fukasawa2, Mio Takayama2, Akihisa Agena1
Helium is commonly used as a carrier gas for GC/MS. However, it is unsustainable due to an unstable supply chain and increasing prices. We have been researching the use of safe and inexpensive nitrogen as an alternative gas to helium for applications in forensic toxicology. In this study, GC/MS analytical methods using nitrogen as an alternative carrier gas was compared with a conventional helium-based method for the analysis of 27 drugs and 7 pesticides. The target compounds were analyzed in a 10 µg/mL solution. Constant linear velocity mode and splitless mode were applied for GC/MS analysis conditions. Three analytical conditions were evaluated by modifying the linear velocity and ionization voltage. When nitrogen was used as the carrier gas, the peak height was 10 % on average compared to the peak height of helium. The similarity of the obtained mass spectra to those acquired with helium averaged 84. However, under the analytical conditions in which the ionization voltage was changed, the spectral similarity slightly decreased to an average of 81, while the peak height significantly increased to an average of 87%. It suggests possibility that nitrogen serve as a viable alternative carrier gas to helium in GC/MS analysis.