Direct coupling of reversed-phase liquid chromatography to gas chromatography

Direct approaches for coupling reversed-phase liquid chromatography to gas chromatography are reviewed. The following four main solutions have been devised to overcome the problems of direct injection of large volumes of water to the GC: retention gap techniques using retention gaps with special deactivation, loop-type interface, programmed temperature vaporizer interface and vaporizer interface. Advantages and disadvantages of the different solutions are discussed. The paper has been written from the viewpoint of practical use. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.