Absolute Basics of GC and GC-MS

  • Duration: 1 day for live courses 6.50 hours for on-demand
  • Experience level: Beginners
  • Delivery methods: Face-to-face | Offsite training & consultancy | On-Demand | Online | Onsite training & consultancy | Tailored training |
  • Type of course: Universal
  • Applicable to manufacturer(s): Agilent | Bruker | Leco | PerkinElmer | Scion | Shimadzu | SRI | Thermo | Varian | Waters |
  • CPD Approved: Approved
  • Scheduled course price: £385.00 + TAX per delegate
  • Course discounts: RSC CAMS HEaTED Cambridge Network TSN members receive a discount on this course
Date
Course Title
Delivery method
Location
Cost + 20% TAX
Booking
08/07/2026 - 08/07/2026
Online
Virtual classroom
£385.00
02/10/2026 - 02/10/2026
Online
Virtual classroom
£385.00

Your beginner’s guide to gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS)

Learn the fundamentals of gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with this 1-day classroom-based beginners course for professionals and students that is approved by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This introductory, analytical chemistry course will cover the what, how, why, where and when of GC and GC-MS and will take you from sample introduction through to understanding chromatograms and mass spectra. Improve your understanding further with the opportunity to handle (see, in virtual courses) GC and GC-MS instrument parts and consumables such as an MS quadrupole, ion source and detector and, a GC analytical column, liners and septa.

Whether you’re stepping into the world of GC and GC-MS for the first time, or looking to refresh your technical expertise, this essential training course gives you the knowledge you need to understand analytical chromatography and, start using GC and GC-MS. These foremost analytical chemistry techniques are used to identify and quantify compounds in complex mixtures and are used in laboratories worldwide. This course breaks complex GC and GC-MS instrumentation and techniques into easy-to-understand concepts, helping you to build skills that you can use in the lab.

Why should I join Absolute Basics of GC and GC-MS?

On completion, you will be able to understand what defines GC and GC-MS techniques, their typical applications and, the methods use of the mobile and stationary phases to separate chemicals in a sample mixture, through to the mass spectrometer’s ability to ionise molecules, produce fragment ions and measure these based on their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio.

 

This gas chromatography training course gives you:

  • A solid understanding of the techniques used in GC and GC-MS
  • Clear explanations of analytical chromatography and mass spectrometry
  • Insights into GC and GC-MS components such as analytical columns and various detectors
  • Understanding of basic data analysis from chromatogram interpretation to the use of a mass spectrum
  • Familiarity with basic sample preparation techniques including thermal desorption (TD) and solid phase extraction (SPE)
  • Real-world exercises of applications across many different industries
  • A great summary of both GC and GC-MS aided with an acronym glossary

This is your opportunity to learn two of the most widely used analytical science techniques, GC and GC-MS, in modern science.

What would I learn on Absolute Basics of GC and GC-MS?

A beginner‑friendly introductory course focusing on the what, how, why, where and when of GC and GC-MS, including:

  1. What GC and GC-MS are
  • The processes of chromatographic separation and mass spectrometry
  • What chromatography is and the different types
  • What defines both GC and GC-MS and the common terminology used
  • What a chromatogram and a mass spectrum are and the information they provide
  1. How GC and GC-MS work
  • The core principles behind GC and GC-MS
  • How the stationary phase and mobile phase work to perform the chromatographic separation
  • How different analytical columns and oven temperature programs are used
  • How different carrier gases and mobile phase flow rates can be used
  • How various inlet methods such as split injection, spitless injection and cool on-column injection work
  • How different universal and selective detectors work such as a flame ionisation detector (FID) or electron capture detector (ECD)
  • How electron ionisation (EI) works and produces ions in mass spectrometry
  • How mass spectrometers work including the vacuum, ion source, quadrupole and time-of-flight (TOF) mass analysers and the electron multiplier (EM) ion detector
  • How mass spectrometers produce 3D data and can be used for spectral separation
  1. Why we use GC and GC-MS
  • The use of GC for qualitative analysis and quantitation, data analysis
  • Why GC-MS can additionally be used for the identification of unknown compounds
  • Why internal standards are useful in GC and GC-MS analysis
  1. Where GC and GC-MS is involved
  • The analysis of gas, liquid and solid phase samples
  • Where different sampling techniques can be automated on GC briefly introducing TD, SPE, headspace (HS), purge and trap (P&T), liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) and pyrolysis (Py)
  1. When GC and GC-MS is the right choice
  • Real-world, interactive, exercises of example applications across pharmaceuticals, environmental science, food testing, forensics, clinical labs, flavour and fragrance industry, petrochemicals and space research
  • When we would use a suitable sampling technique, analytical column and detector for various applications such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

What knowledge will I gain on Absolute Basics of GC and GC-MS?

By the end of the course, you will:

  • Understand the principles and concepts of GC and GC-MS
  • Know the key instrument components and workflows from sample introduction to data collection
  • Feel confident discussing GC and GC-MS instrumentation and results
  • Understand the various types of GC and GC-MS instruments available, mobile and stationary phase differences and types of detectors
  • Be familiar with common sample preparation techniques in GC and GC-MS
  • Comprehend the principles behind chromatograms, mass spectra and data analysis
  • Recognise how GC and GC-MS are used across diverse industries

This course gives you the language and understanding needed to work with GC and GC-MS systems, even if you aren’t the person pressing the buttons.

Is this course for me?

This training is designed for anyone who needs a solid grounding in GC and GC-MS, including:

  • For beginners to GC and/or GC-MS
  • Analysts & technicians wanting a clear, structured refresher
  • Laboratory or line managers overseeing GC and GC-MS instruments
  • Data analysts and report writers who interpret results but do not use the instruments
  • Service and consultant engineers who need a chemistry-focused viewpoint
  • Sales, marketing, or commercial teams working with GC and GC-MS systems, consumables, data or laboratory services

If GC or GC-MS touches your work in any way, this well-planned RSC CPD approved course delivered by experts in the field equips you to understand the science behind these techniques.

What's next?