Chromatography Forum

Hello everyone,

I am currently working on a method to determine PAH in urine with GCMS. My peaks are nice and sharp in the spiked samples. However, when I run standards, I get extensive tailing and -80% in peak area. Liner and septum are brand new. Can this be a matter of sample/standard solvent? Can anyone help?

If your spikes look good but your standards don't, check your solvent samples vs standards. Also, is this a splitless injection?

Samples and standards should be in matching solvents. If not the calibration in one solvent may not give accurate quantification for samples in another solvent.

Solvent affects the vaporization in the inlet, so that could be causing the tailing in the standards. For best results everything should be the same between standards and samples if possible.