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Accuracy and precision of gas chromatography/combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry for stable carbon isotope ratio measurements
Author(s) -
Wong William W.,
Hachey David L.,
Zhang Shide,
Clarke Lucinda L.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.1290091107
Subject(s) - isotope ratio mass spectrometry , chemistry , isotopes of carbon , isotope , mass spectrometry , analytical chemistry (journal) , gas chromatography , stable isotope ratio , chromatography , carbon fibers , environmental chemistry , total organic carbon , physics , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite number , composite material
We evaluated the precision, accuracy and linearity of three commercial gas chromatography/combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C‐IRMS) instruments in regard to stable carbon isotope ratio measurements of fatty acids with 13 C enrichment levels ranging from natural abundance to 924‰, in comparison to measurements by conventional gas isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GIRMS). Memory effect was also evaluated with a fatty acid mixture containing methyl myristate and methyl stearate at natural abundance levels of 13 C but methyl palmitate at 13 C enrichment levels of 460 or 924‰. At natural abundance, the δ 13 C values of fatty acids measured by the GC/C‐IRMS instruments were reproducible to within 0.34‰ (range: 0.11‰ to 0.32‰) and accurate to −0.38±0.40‰ (mean difference ± standard deviation; range: −0.03±0.25‰ to −0.84±0.39‰). At enrichment levels of 13 C (23 to 924‰), the δ 13 C values were reproducible to within 1.48‰ (range 0.20‰ to 1.00‰) and accurate to −1.11±3.16‰ (range: −1.02±3.23‰ to +4.56±13.42‰). Stable carbon isotope ratio measurements by all three GC/C‐IRMS instruments were found to be linear from −30 to 924‰ (r 2 > 0.9999; p ⩽ 0.004) in comparison to those measured by GIRMS. Significant memory effect was found in only one system. Based on our data, the GC/C‐IRMS instruments can provide linear, precise and accurate stable carbon isotope ratio measurements and require only pico‐and nanogram quantities of samples.