5-day Hands-on GC & GC-MS

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Course summary

Course approval

This course has been approved by the Royal Society of Chemistry for purposes of Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

What will you learn on this course?

This course provides the theory of gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) essential to any participant, along with hands-on practical elements in the laboratory to practice and re-enforce the theoretical knowledge. These courses are 50% theory and 50% practical in a lab environment.

This course addresses gases and plumbing, sample introduction, analytical columns, GC detectors (FID and ECD), mass-spectrometry and data analysis. The knowledge is then used to create methods, perform injections and change parameters to see the effects. The course discusses the need for maintenance along with practicals to carry out maintenance on both a GC and a GC-MS system such as liquid autosampler, inlet, columns, FID/ECD and quadrupole MS including tuning and ion source cleaning. A day is spent on troubleshooting a GC or GC-MS instrument and learning what problems can occur, with real problem solving on the instruments and data analysis software.

This course combines the five individual hands-on days covering GC Theory and Methods, GC Maintenance, GC-MS Theory and Methods, GC-MS Maintenance and GC and GC-MS Troubleshooting.

A FREE glossary on GC & GC-MS is provided with this course!

Learning outcomes

  • You will learn the importance of good chromatography
  • You will learn about the function & operation of the individual GC components
  • You will become familiar with the GC instrumentation
  • You will have practical experience of adjusting the parameters for each GC component
  • You will have practical experience of performing maintenance on each GC components
  • You will learn the principles of mass spectrometry
  • You will learn about the function & operation of the MS individual components
  • You will become familiar with the MS instrumentation
  • You will have practical experience of adjusting the parameters for each MS component
  • You will have practical experience of performing maintenance on each MS component
  • You will learn the strategies for GC & GC-MS instrument troubleshooting
  • You will have practical experience of GC & GC-MS instrument troubleshooting

Who is this course for?

This course is suitable for all levels of knowledge; however for complete beginners it is advisable to attend the 1-day Absolute Basics of GC & GC-MS first to get a good basic overview of gas chromatography and GC-MS.

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Feedback from previous attendees

(Most useful topic:) "Learning by doing."    (September 2022).

"(I enjoyed) theory and background knowledge to understand why we do in specific way. Hands on application and theory."   Agnes Csortan, Shift Analyst, IFF (September 2022).

"I loved switching between theory and practical. I liked small groups, easy to communicate and get involved."  Abigail Harrison, Analytical Chemist, Fuji Film Speciality Ink Systems (July 2022).

"The volume of material and delivery of it is excellent. (I enjoyed) Maintenance - taking apart the ion source."  Kate O'Connell, Analytical Researcher, Teva (July 2022).

"(I enjoyed) Hands-on practicals. Better [compared to other courses] as has instruments to use/repair."  Glenn Feighan, Lab Instrument Engineer, Mitie - GSK (July 2022).

"I really enjoyed everything in the course. The theory and practical side of the course are very good and very relatable. Diane is very knowledgeable and always ensured we fully understand the topic and also highlighted a lot of extra tips when it comes to the maintenance and troubleshooting of GC."  July 2022.

"(I enjoyed) the variable learning techniques and gaining knowledge of inlets and how to take them apart and different parts to them."  Lois Oddie, Analytical Support Chemist, Mexichem UK (September 2019).

"(I enjoyed the) practical aspect of course."  September 2019.

"Good pace of instruction."  September 2019.

"(I enjoyed the) practical maintenance and troubleshooting."  September 2019.

"Much more in-depth than standard training which came with instrument."  Mathew Jones, Research Scientist, Dyson Ltd (June 2019).

"[I enjoyed the] balance between theoretical and practical courses."  Arlavinda Rezqita, Scientist, Austrian Institute of Technology (June 2019).

"[I enjoyed the] hands on practice."  Nisha Panchal, Research Technician, The Open University (June 2019).

"Good combination of theory and practical."  Ayesha Naeem, Laboratory Technician, Smiths Detection (February 2019).

"[I enjoyed the] practical knowledge."  Aijaz Naseem, Service Engineer, PetroScientific Middle East (February 2019).

"[I enjoyed the] hands on working on instrument. (Most interesting topic): practical problems on troubleshooting."  Research Scientist from the drinks industry (February 2019).

"[I enjoyed the] practical side. (Most interesting topic): Maintenance - changing liner and column etc."  Science Technician from a UK university (February 2019).

"Enjoyed the whole experience, particularly the hands-on practicals."  Craig Gazzard, Lab Analyst, Coryton Advanced Fuels (September 2018).

"[I enjoyed] how eye-opening it was with regards to the layers of GC-MS and the theory behind it."  Jasmin Hunt, Materials Quality Controller, Clean Tech (September 2018).

"[I enjoyed] the practicals and the relaxed manner of presenting all covered topics. More detailed and a lot more practical (hands-on) [compared to other courses]."  Barbara Kaker, Research Assistant, University of Maribor, Slovenia (September 2018).

"[I enjoyed] the mix of hands-on and theory."  PhD student (September 2018).

"Very good. [I enjoyed] complete course, especially question and answer sessions."  Syed Osaid, Service Engineer, PetroScientific Middle East, April 2018.

"[I enjoyed] lecture and hands-on, practical test."  Irfan Ahmed, Service Engineer, PetroScientific Middle East (April 2018).

"[I enjoyed] the hands on and the detailed theory of the chromatography along with the detailed troubleshooting and maintenance exercises."  Muhammad Mohsin, Service Engineer, PetroScientific Middle East (April 2018).

"I found this course good. [I enjoyed] the way of instructions along with hands on practical exercise."  Junaid Ahmed, Resident Engineer, PetroScientific Middle East (April 2018).

"Well presented in a relaxed manner where you were able to ask questions and see answers in practical and literature."  Stephen Martin, Engineer, Speck & Burke (February 2018).

"The practicals were very useful and it was good to get some hands-on practice. Very informative and hands-on. Covered a wide range of applications (not just pharma!)."  Sara Viney, Research Technician, University of Leeds (February 2018).

"Very good. (I enjoyed) being given so much useful information."  Kelleigh Greene, PhD Student, The Open University (February 2018).

"(I enjoyed) hands-on maintenance - taking apart inlet and FID."  Emily Rose, Analytical Chemist Apprentice, Green Biologics Ltd (attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance and Troubleshooting (Feburary 2018).

"Very good here with the mix of theory and practical sessions."  Solweig Egnerfors, Hospital Chemist, Karolinska University Hospital (November 2017).

"Excellent. (I enjoyed the) mixture between theory and on hands practicals."  delegate from the food and drink industry, attended 3-day Hands-on GC-MS, Maintenance & Troubleshooting (November 2017).

"Good knowledgeable instructor who answered most of the questions and always gave good explanations."  Rachael Hamp, PhD Student, The Open University (November 2017).

"(I enjoyed the) combination of classroom and laboratory work."  Lucy Coppin, Research Lab Technician, University Of Surrey (September 2017).

"(I enjoyed the) troubleshooting part to look at practical problems."  Miaosi Li, Research Fellow, RMIT Australia (September 2017).

"(I enjoyed) the hands on experience of different equipment and equipment I have."  delegate from the ink industry (September 2017).

"(I enjoyed) the small group setting."&nbsp: delegate from a UK government agency (September 2017).

"(I enjoyed) the hardware work on the GC-GC-MS."  delegate from the biotechnology industry (September 2017).

"Very good. (I enjoyed) combination of theory and practicals."  Senior Analytical Chemist, food industry (November 2016).

"It was good. (I enjoyed) hands-on section."  Lab Specialist, food industry (November 2016).

"The knowledge of the instructor, the hands on experience. The readiness of my co-trainers to assist. I enjoyed the course."  Teacher, university in Nigeria, attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (November 2016).

"It was all very good." Stuart Clark, Head of Laboratory and Compliance, Advanced Liquid Feeds, attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (September 2016).

"Really good and detailed. (I enjoyed) the practicals and the flow of the different sections."   Service engineer, instrument manufacturer (September 2016).

"Really clear and informative. (I enjoyed) practical hands-on."  Mike Faulkner, PET Chemist, Siemens' PETNET Solutions (attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (July 2016).

"Thorough, concise and relevent training, easy going atmosphere."  QC Chemist, European engineering company, attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (April 2016).

"Very Practical"  Artem Krasnobaev, Wageningen UR (April 2016).

"(I enjoyed the) practical exercises and problems."  Asel Shayakhmetova, Lab Analyst, Qatar Petroleum (April 2016).

"(I enjoyed) the practical aspects."  Nigel Corn, R&D Chemist and SHE Manager, Vivimed Labs Europe Ltd, attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (April 2016).

"(I enjoyed) the practical sessions."   Hayley Guyatt, R&D Team, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, attended 2-day Hands-on GC Theory & Maintenance (April 2016).

"Course instructors were very knowledgeable and very helpful in answering questions. Explaining things more than once when needed"   Engineer, UK Company (November 2015).

"Engagingly taught. We were able to have things explained in detail."  Chemist, Petrochemical Industry (November 2015).

"Good quality information, knowledge of presenters."  Naif Dakhil AlEnzi, Senior Pharmacist, Saudi Food & Drug Authority (February 2015).

"(I enjoyed) the practical aspect getting to see what has been taught further makes it interesting and practical problems."  Lab Analyst, petrochemical industry (February 2015).

"Very good course. I have some experience in maintenance and have been able to improve on my skills."  Chemistry Team Leader, personal care products company (February 2015).

"(I enjoyed) the knowledge of the instructors and the hands on approach. The ability to do some practical problems was also very insightful."  QC Technician, silicones supplier (February 2015).

"Fantastic - especially for the practical aspects of running GC & GC-MS, as you provide lots of time for this. You need a week for the course (so better than other courses that squeeze this in to shorter periods). The hands on part of the course helped to reinforce the theory and enabled much better understanding of how to use the software, maintaining the instruments etc."  Melia Burdon, Research Technician, University of Exeter (September 2014).

"It is an uncomparable course and I'll recommend it to my colleagues."  Serag Alsahafy, Senior Chemist, Saudi Food & Drug Authority (September 2014).

"The course was very good and have so much information and I enjoyed the most the practical part."  Senior Pharmacist (September 2014).

"Very good lab, very good teaching."  Mohamed Salih Ali Omar, Computer Engineer, Sudanese National Authority OPCW (June 2014).

"The great information and the method to explain everything. High knowledge of presenter, intelligent and smart presenter."  Fadia Abdullah AL-Duraihem, Lab Specialist, Saudi Food & Drug Authority (June 2014).

"I have enjoyed the course because the presenter Mr Imran is very good English speaker and has high skills in scientific interpretation."  Mohamed Omer Elhaj Saeed Aliyab, Chemical Engineer, Sudanese National Authority OPCW (June 2014).

"[I enjoyed] everything, especially troubleshooting. I think this is the best course I have been on."  Abdullah Al Khalaf, Saudi Food and Drug Agency (March 2013).

"[I enjoyed] all of the course, especially troubleshooting."  Azaa Al Shamli, a Chemistry Specialist from the Royal Court Affairs (March 2013).

"[I enjoyed the] problem solving exercises both practical and on handouts, with the in-depth explanation of GC components and troubleshooting. [It had] more practical exercises I will actually use at work."  Chemist in the Environmental Industry, attended 3-day Hands-on GC, Maintenance & Troubleshooting courses.