Gas Chromatography Coupled to High Resolution Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry as a High-Throughput Tool for Characterizing Geochemical Biomarkers in Sediments.

ABSTRACT: The performance of gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-HRTofMS) for characterizing geochemical biomarkers from sediment samples was evaluated. Two approaches to obtain the geochemical biomarkers were tested: (1) extraction with organic solvent and subsequent derivatization and (2) in-situ derivatization thermal desorption. Results demonstrated that both approaches can be conveniently applied for simultaneous characterization of many geochemical biomarkers (alkanes, alkanols, sterols, and fatty acids), avoiding conventional time-consuming purification procedures. GC-HRTofMS reduces both sample preparation time and the number of chromatographic runs compared to traditional methodologies used in organic geochemistry. Particularly, the approach ba

SUBMITTER: Koolen HHF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6304594 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature