Advances in Chromatographic Trace Analysis

Dear Colleagues,

Chromatographic methods are indispensible tools in organic trace analysis. More than in other fields of analytical chemistry, where methods are relatively well-established, chromatographic methods—particularly those intended for organic trace analysis—have witnessed a tremendous development and improvement in performance over the past few years. This is the effect of improvements at various levels, including the introduction of new column materials such as ionic liquid stationary phases in gas chromatography or mixed mode columns in liquid chromatography, or the introduction of new or improvement of existing column formats (e.g., core-shell particles, monolithic columns for HPLC). Also, chromatographic techniques that have so far been investigated only very little in (environmental) trace analysis, such as a comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography, chromatographic multiplexing techniques, or the vacuum outlet (low pressure)-GC/MS method are gaining increasing popularity and acceptance within the analytical community: Additionally, we must not forget mentioning the exciting new developments in detector technology, such as advanced mass spectrometric or plasma-based detectors, which provide additional dimensions of information, selectivity and sensitivity.

Furthermore, aspects of green chemistry have also become increasingly important in the trace organic analytical laboratory. They are nowadays considered already in the design of analytical methods (and notably in the sample preparation step) and consequently lead to the development of analytical methods that require less toxic or hazardous chemicals, produce less waste and require less energy. We anticipate that this latter aspect will become a particularly important one in the future development of analytical methods and instrumentation.

It is the objective of this Special Issue to present an overview of the latest developments in analytical instrumentation and methodology that have fueled research in chromatographic trace analysis. Authors are therefore cordially invited to submit manuscripts on their original research or review articles that highlight the recent exciting developments in this field.

Dr. Erwin Rosenberg
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• trace analysis
• chromatography
• comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography
• sample preparation
• chromatographic detectors
• stationary phases
• column technology
• multiplexing techniques
• low pressure-GC/MS