Industry Roundup: GERSTEL Details How Its DHS+ Technology Delivers Cryogen-Free, Ultra-Sensitive Trace Analysis

GERSTEL has released technical details explaining how its Dynamic Headspace (DHS+) system operates, shedding light on the mechanics behind the automated extraction technology on their company website.¹

According to the company, the process begins with a sample being tempered and agitated inside a sealed vial. A defined gas flow then continuously purges outgassing compounds from the headspace, directing them onto an adsorbent tube where analytes are enriched. This enrichment happens independent of vapor volume and largely independent of matrix effects, according to GERSTEL. The system can also perform extractions below ambient temperature, a feature intended to help capture sensitive or easily lost analytes that might otherwise escape detection.

The technology offers flexibility in how samples are processed. Depending on method settings, users can collect all analytes or only select ones and can fractionate or concentrate compounds from multiple samples onto a single adsorbent tube.

Once loaded, the adsorbent tubes move automatically into GERSTEL's thermal desorption system, where they are thermally desorbed, refocused in the Cooled Injection System (CIS), and injected directly onto the GC column without long transfer lines. The company notes that this dynamic focusing process is cryogen-free, a design choice aimed at supporting both routine laboratory work and highly sensitive trace analysis.

Addressing the Limits of Classical Headspace Techniques

GERSTEL says DHS enables highly efficient enrichment, extracting compounds up to complete exhaustion of the sample. The company reports this results in significantly lower detection limits, a wide linear range, and reliable quantification, even in complex matrices such as foods, fragrances, polymers, and environmental samples. High sensitivity is maintained even at low extraction temperatures, and the system is designed to eliminate limitations common to classical headspace methods, including restricted vapor phase volumes and equilibrium effects.

The technology also supports established analytical methods, including the Full Evaporation Technique (FET) and Multi Volatiles Method (MVM), which allow for matrix-independent, reproducible analysis across a wide range of compounds. Additional capabilities include automated standard addition for quantification and liquid injection for recovery determination.

GERSTEL positions DHS as one of the more flexible platforms available, noting its compatibility with complementary sample preparation techniques such as Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) and Dry Thermal Extraction (DTE) on the same system.

The company describes its Dynamic Headspace extraction as fully automated, solvent-free, and compatible with common GC and GC-MS systems, positioning it as an alternative to classical headspace, SPME, and purge-and-trap techniques for laboratories seeking greater sensitivity, method flexibility, and data quality.

For more information on this product, visit https://www.gerstel.com/en/products/sample-preparation/Headspace/6091

References

1. Dynamic Headspace DHS+. Gerstel website. https://www.gerstel.com/en/products/sample-preparation/Headspace/6091 (accessed 2026-08-31)