A manuscript describing a new detector for gas chromatography (GC) from LCGC Editorial Advisory Board member Kevin Schug of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Texas), has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed research journal Analytical Chemistry. The manuscript, titled “A Vacuum Ultraviolet Detector for Gas Chromatography,” describes the detector’s analytical performance characteristics, possible applications, and potential for use with spectral diagnostics.

Schug’s manuscript, available on the Analytical Chemistry website, explains why the VUV detector is a versatile and universal detector for quantitative and qualitative GC. The manuscript highlights applications such as the analysis of fixed gases, hydrocarbons, pesticides, drug compounds, and fatty acids, with an emphasis on applications that are problematic for mass spectrometry detection. When absorption cross-sections are known, the detector reportedly can determine without calibration the precise number of molecules in the flow cell based on the measured absorption signal.