Complete GC and GC-MS
- Duration: 5 days for live courses 32.50 hours for on-demand
- Experience level: Intermediate
- 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 | CDS Analytical | CTC | Frontier | GERSTEL | GLSciences | Leco | OI Analytical | PerkinElmer | Pyrolab | Scion | Shimadzu | SRI | Thermo | Varian | Waters |
- CPD Approved: Approved
- Scheduled course price: £1,875.00 + TAX per delegate
- Course discounts: RSC CAMS HEaTED Cambridge Network TSN members receive a discount on this course
Your complete guide to gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS) (GC-MS)
Learn everything you ever need to know about gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with this 5-day classroom-based course for professionals, students and chemists, approved by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This complete analytical chemistry course combines the intermediate Practical Essentials of GC and GC-MS with the more advanced GC and GC-MS clinic, to provide a complete training course enabling you to understand your GC and GC-MS instruments, develop methods, maintain and troubleshoot them. Alongside diagrams, animations and examples from different industries, 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.
This course covers all the practical theory you need to know about GC and its related techniques including GC-MS, from both the chemistry and physical perspectives, covering the instrument modules from autosamplers for automated sampling and sample preparation through to data analysis. This course also looks at how to choose the GC & GC-MS techniques for an application, set-up the instrument, develop & optimise the methods and then finally how to maintain & troubleshoot the instrumentation. Also, the course takes a brief look at advanced GC and GC-MS techniques to help solve those very tricky applications in analytical laboratories.
Why should I join Complete GC and GC-MS?
At the end of this course, you will have a complete understanding of GC and GC-MS techniques and, be able to confidently apply all aspects studied on this course to your own laboratory and analytical work.
This complete GC & GC-MS course gives you:
- A complete understanding of the instrumentation used in GC and GC-MS from the gases and plumbing, through to the PC for data analysis
- Clear insights and explanations into GC and GC-MS components such as analytical columns, various detectors and mass spectrometers
- Understanding of basic data analysis from the use and interpretation of chromatograms to mass spectra
- Familiarity with basic sample preparation techniques including thermal desorption (TD), solid phase extraction (SPE) and pyrolysis
- A solid understanding of GC and GC-MS method development, alongside maintenance and troubleshooting common problems
This is your opportunity to gain a complete understanding of two of the most widely used analytical science techniques, GC and GC-MS, in modern laboratories.
What would I learn on Complete GC and GC-MS?
This intermediate to advanced level course will provide all-round knowledge, covering the practical theory of GC and GC-MS, you will learn the:
- Importance of good chromatography and, how the stationary and mobile phases work
- How to select and use a GC carrier gas at its optimum
- Various GC injection methods, including split, splitless, large volume and cool on-column
- Distinctive types of columns available for GC and GC-MS
- Different selective and universal detectors such as electron capture detectors (ECDs) and flame ionisation detectors (FIDs)
- Discover the different mass spectrometers that can be hyphenated to GC from single quadrupoles (SQMS) to magnetic sector MS
- Common sampling techniques used for GC and GC-MS analysis such as liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), headspace (HS) and solid phase microextraction (SPME)
- How to develop GC and GC-MS methods then put into practice with a classroom-based exercise
- An introduction to advanced GC and GC-MS techniques such as selective discrimination, multidimensional GC, mass spectral interpretation and chemometrics
- Develop a solid understanding of GC and GC-MS maintenance and troubleshooting and put into practice with exercises examining chromatograms to identify and solve problems
What knowledge will I gain on Complete GC and GC-MS?
By the end of the course, you will:
- Have complete knowledge of the principles and concepts of GC and GC-MS, looking at both the carrier gas and sample flow paths
- Confidently understand the GC mobile phase and the optimal flow rates
- Comprehend how to choose the sample introduction system, the inlet type and technique, to avoid problems with difficult samples
- Know how an analytical column works and how to match the phase to the chemical and physical properties of your analytes
- Understand the many types of GC detectors used in GC and GC-MS, including thermal conductivity detectors (TCDs), chemiluminescent detectors and photo ionisation detectors (PIDs)
- Know the differences between high resolution (HRMS) and tandem (MS/MS) mass spectrometry and the different mass analysers such as Time of Flight (ToFMS) and OrbitrapTM MS
- Be familiar with the common ionisation processes in GC-MS including electron (EI) and chemical ionisation principles
- Grasp both qualitative and quantitative data analysis processes, learning integration, choosing internal standards and how library searches work
- Know the strategy for developing a robust GC or GC-MS method, how to monitor the method performance and prepare the method for validation
- Have basic knowledge of advanced GC and GC-MS techniques, including fast GC, deconvolution, heart-cutting (GC+GC) and comprehensive 2D GC (GCxGC)
- Understand common maintenance required on GC and GC-MS instrumentation, including checking syringes, replacing inlet seals, GC column care, MS tuning and how to look after your PC
- Understand how to troubleshoot common issues with GC and GC-MS, examining frequent problem as such as gases and plumbing, autosampler issues, analytical column problems, GC and GC-MS system leaks and how to troubleshoot contamination that could come from various sources.
Is this course for me?
This training is designed for anyone with basic knowledge who would like to take this to a higher level and learn the full extent of GC and GC-MS instrumentation and applications, including:
- Laboratory analysts & technicians wanting clear, structured, in-depth training or a refresher on these techniques
- Laboratory or line managers overseeing GC and GC-MS instruments and analysis
- 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 who would like a complete, in-depth perspective
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.
Course combinations
If you don’t have time to attend the full course all at once, you can learn about the techniques in the Practical Essentials course, go back to the lab to implement the knowledge and then join us at a later date to attend the more advanced GC & GC-MS Clinic course. With Virtual Classroom training, you can choose to attend individual modules, to improve your knowledge in a particular area.
This course includes
- Practical Essentials of GC and GC-MS
- Practical Essentials of GC introduction, gases and plumbing and sample introduction
- Practical Essentials introduction to Gas Chromatography and GC-MS
- Practical Essentials of GC gases and plumbing
- Practical Essentials of GC sample introduction
- Practical Essentials of GC columns, detector and mass spectrometers
- Practical Essentials of GC columns
- Practical Essentials of GC detectors
- Practical Essentials of mass spectrometers for GC
- Practical Essentials of GC and GC-MS data analysis and sample preparation
- The GC and GC-MS Clinic
What's next?
Feedback from previous attendees
“Each section explained in a detailed way. Very interesting to see different techniques more than normal and basic setting. It gave me a broader view to consider other options to be applied on my application. The most useful was understanding the flow of the whole process. It was first course and it was amazing”’ Chemist, 2026
“Really enjoyed the knowledge Diane has. It was great to get a good background knowledge that I can now apply in my lab. All the questions I had have been answered.” QC Chemist, 2026
“Well-structured content & clear explanations throughout. Most useful aspect was the practical knowledge gained, which can be applied in lab analysis. The course was good as from experience, not just fundamentals like books.” Analytical Chemist, 2026
“This course was much better than other online courses I have attended. Most interesting topic: Practical essentials of sampling and sample preparation techniques.” Tatiana Bezborodova, Laboratory Manager, College Biofuels (September/October 2021).
“Course content was very interesting and relevant to anyone hoping to expand their GC-MS knowledge.
Lots to learn and apply to all different types of analysis. High standard of knowledge and how things should be done!” (The GC & GC-MS Clinic, October 2020).
“It is comprehensive and covers all topics. The course instructor speaks very clearly and good use of analogy to explain the concept.” (Practical Essentials of GC & GC-MS, July 2020).
“All the course questions are a good reminder to apply each time when I need to choose a method or technique for an application.” (Module 1: Practical Essentials of Gas Chromatography and GC-MS Introduction, July 2020).
“Comprehensive knowledge about sample introduction, particularly all the diagrams with a clear explanation from the instructor.” (Module 3: Practical Essentials of Sample Introduction in GC & GC-MS, July 2020).
“I found good details illustrated in the course materials and a clear explanation of each method and technique as well as the comparison of the methods and techniques are equally interesting and useful.” (Module 3: Practical Essentials of Sample Introduction in GC & GC-MS, July 2020).
“Comprehensive knowledge about columns.” (Module 4: Practical Essentials of GC Columns, July 2020).
“I enjoyed that this module material covers all methods and detailed the why, how and the importance of each, as well as listed the pros and cons of each method.” (Module 7: Practical Essentials of Data Analysis for GC & GC-MS, July 2020).
“It is great all about different sampling and sampling preparation techniques in a structured way. I particularly enjoy the part of solid-phase sampling techniques. Diane gave an overview of all the solid phase sampling techniques, also the theory behind and how to apply. Her rich knowledge and experience add to another layer of understanding of these techniques, especially in the Q&A session.” (Module 8: Practical Essentials of Sampling & Sample Preparation Techniques for GC & GC-MS, July 2020).
“Great presentation with lots of opportunities to ask questions. This has more than met my expectations.” (The GC & GC-MS Clinic, February 2021).
“Being able to hear from an expert in the field and see some practical examples. I was given a lot of base knowledge and loads of helpful tips that I would never have thought about.” Hollie Gillespie, QC Lab Analyst, NextGEN360 (Module 11: Applied GC & GC-MS Maintenance, May 2020).
“It was good to be able to have an outline of how to deal with problems when they first appear. Lots of useful tips were included alongside the more basic information. [Most useful topic:] Chromatogram Troubleshooting. It was really useful to be able to apply the knowledge given in the training and see some real examples.” Hollie Gillespie, QC Lab Analyst, NextGEN360 (Module 12: Applied Troubleshooting for GC & GC-MS, May 2020).
“(Compared to other courses) this one is more informative and handled by more experienced facilitators.” Rodgers Mbambara, Chief Laboratory Analyst, Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority, Complete GC & GC-MS, April 2023
“The whole course was interesting, each part gave me a new knowledge that never realise before.” Mohammed Elsayed – Field Technical Support, Aroscent, Egypt (Onsite Bespoke GC & GC-MS training, March 2022).
“Was useful and well organised.” Zamfira Dinca, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation ICIA, Romania (October 2019).
“Very good course with all the info, examples by presenters. Lots of information.” (October 2019).
“As a very new topic I was pleased I could absorb a great deal of information, even though there was a lot to take in from the start. I enjoyed realising that I had learned a great deal.” Alex Dawson, PhD student, The Open University (October 2019).
“The ease with which the course was taught. Everything was set out in an easy to understand way.” (October 2019).
“[I enjoyed] the part about pyrolysis. Also that the instructor was so interested in the topic which made me more interested.” Jeanette Lykkemark, PhD student, Aalborg university, Denmark (October 2019).
“Gained knowledge in many areas which gives confidence working with/on instruments.” (April 2019).
“The practical exercises looking at different chromatograms and identify possible problems which allows to apply the knowledge gathered during the week.” Sonia Garcia-Alcega, Consultant, The Open University (April 2019).
“Course instructor was very knowledgeable and able to answer most questions asked. A lot of information about all aspects.” (April 2019).
“Very knowlegeable instructor and good quality course notes.” (April 2019).
“The way it is presented, it is not boring at all, Richard is a great instructor. I enjoy.” Martina Ožbolt, Analyst in Analytics, Pliva Croatia Ltd (April 2019).
“All the maintenance required and learning lots about different inlets/liners that I didn’t know previously.” Rachel Hand, Research Associate, The Open University (April 2019).
“Well conducted course.” Edward Mubiru, Lecturer, Makerere University, Uganda (April 2019).
(Most interesting topic:) “Theoretical basis of the processes.” Camelia Tulcan, Associate Professor, Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania (April 2019).
“I obviously enjoyed almost every part of the course.” Karzan Kamal Rashid (July 2018).
“[I enjoyed] gaining knowledge about the GC system.” delegate from environmental industry (July 2018).
“[I enjoyed] easy, laidback environment for learning / remembering all details of GC & GC-MS. Better structure and more in-depth [compared to other courses].” delegate from biochemistry industry (January 2018).
“Depth of the topics covered was very useful in understanding. Why we do certain things/setup the instrument in a certain way in the lab, very relevent to the research that we do. Great ranges of topics covered too, just not covering the food industry, very knowledgeable course instructor.” A delegate from a UK university (July 2017).
“(I enjoyed) troubleshooting – can relate to our research work.” Imogen Ramsey, PhD Student, University of Nottingham (July 2017).
“Everything was well explained and in detail. All Questions answered. Very Good organised. Great value for money. One of the best courses I’ve followed.” Anthi Schoina, Chemist, Veritas Petroleum Services (February 2017).
“It has been very usefull overall. (I enjoyed) having the opportunity to look at the machines in detail.” Debora Bortolotli, Trainee GC-MS Analyst, CPL Aromas (February 2017).
“More comprehensive [compared to other courses attended].” Yasmin Quora (February 2017).
“Picking up hints and tips, increase my awareness of some of the topics. (Anthias Consulting) have the best knowledge for GC-MS techniques for use on Agilent instruments.” David Saunders, Laboratory Chemist, Si Group UK (attended GC & GC-MS clinic, October 2016).
“It has been an excellent course for specialists. The tutor has been really good in explaining details.” Simone Cogliati, PhD Student, The Open University (June 2016).
“Throrough course material which covered intensively the principles of GC & GC-MS.” Pramod Pandey, Faculty, UC Davis, USA (June 2016).
“I enjoyed the way Richard was answering and explaining questions and answers.” Edith Ndungu, Techno Electronic Engineering, Kenya (June 2016).
“(I enjoyed) problem solving towards the end – a chance to apply all the learning.” R&D Chemist, Textile manufacturer (June 2016).
“… very useful and detailed” Sharon Lim Mui Ting, IACTS Tech, Nottingham University (Oct 2015).
“Relaxed atmosphere but lots packed in” Stephen Hall, Bioprocess Engineering group manager / Experimental Officer, Nottingham University (October 2015).
“Great overview including basic concepts as well as more advanced material and discussion. Broad subject base.” PhD Student, UK University (October 2015).
“(I enjoyed) the level of completeness. You feel nothing has been left out.” Kevin Post, Research Chemist, Sabic UK Petrochemicals (April 2015).
“Very insightful course with very knowledgeable instructor who was very helpful.” Hallam Wheatley, Technical Supervisor, Sabic UK Petrochemicals (April 2015).
“The depth of the subject coverage and Imran’s knowledge was extremely impressive.” Eric Laverick, Technical Supervisor, Sabic UK Petrochemicals (April 2015).
“(I enjoyed) the depth of information and the way it was explained clearly.” Suzanne Simmons, Research Technician, The Open University (April 2015).
“Knitting together current knowledge to theory and being able to apply to analysis at work.” Senior Analytical Chemist, Pharmaceutical company (April 2015).
“Very comprehensive course, covering basics to more complex. Method development, maintenance and troubleshooting were all very useful.” Research Technician, The Open University (October 2014).
“It’s been very interactive because we were only 4 people, so I personally could clarify all my doubts.” Jose Juan Rodriguez Henriquez, ECCO-MATE project, Brandenburg University of Technology (July 2014).
“Great opportunity for open discussion, thanks also to the limited number of people.” Catalyst Testing Operator (July 2014).
“Notes are very thorough and presenting style informal enough to be engaging but not so much as to be unprofessional.” Georgina Cuckston, Chemist, Infineum UK Ltd (July 2014).
“Excellent slides, well presented, with some good visual aids and good narration and delivery by the presenter. This is a fantastic course.” Dr Kristopher Elliot, Research Manager from Parker Hannifin Ltd (July 2013).
“The presenter has good overall knowledge of the system. The class was always warm and friendly. Impressively consolidating and truly complete.” Albert Fadairo (April 2013).
“I enjoyed learning about how the GC works and how many factors can influence it. [It] has made me think about how we use the machine.” Katie Barker from CTDS Ltd (April 2013).
“It was very good and relevant to my work, when I could understand all parts of the instrument and how I can match my research with the right instrument.” Niloufar Bahrami Ghahnaniehei, a PhD research student from the University of Nottingham (April 2013).
“The whole overview from sampling to data analysis provides very good insight.” Heng Hui Gan, a PhD reserach student from the University of Nottingham (April 2013).
“A very thorough and complete GC course covering both GC theory and practical applications. I’ve learned a lot from this course, especially little golden nuggets of info. like that of selective exclusion which I doubt I would have picked up anywhere else.” 1st year PhD student, Atmospheric Chemistry (July 2012).
“All the information was given in a clear and very professional manner and the course will really help me to identify problems I might encounter in the future. All questions were answered and good examples and solutions to problems given. All topics covered were useful and interesting + we had a tour of the lab!” Katiuska Caraballo, Analytical Chemist at South East Water, attended Troubleshooting & Maintenance individual day of Complete course (July 2012).
“I really enjoyed the course coverage and the enthusiasm of the presenters. Honestly, I am really happy I attended the course. Very worthwhile.” Delphine Oben, PhD Research Associate at The Open University (July 2012).
“Lots of detail, but presented in a relaxed, informal way, so the 5 days passed quickly. Also great personal experiences related, so although the course was theory-based, we got a useful practical perspective.” James Mortimer, Research Student at The Open University (July 2012).
“Overview of the GC System; each part was explained in detail. I enjoyed [learning about] all the information that I have to be aware of if I analyse samples. [The course] was really good. The course instructor was presenting very well and gave examples of real life situations.” Analyst, Nutrition Research (April 2012).
“The first 3 days were really informative. Knowledgeable and enthusiastic trainer (good stories, examples, experiences). Small group and thus a lot of personal attention. All very interesting!” Lydia Bossers, PhD student at the University of Glamorgan (April 2012).
“There was enough time to ask questions if not completely sure about something, or if I didn’t understand something for the first time. It was a good summary of techniques and theoretical background + useful tables summarizing the data. I can use these for future reference!” Synthetic Chemistry Technician (April 2012).
“Completeness of content; well presented material which can act as future reference as well. Troubleshooting aspects will prove invaluable in the future, reducing issues and downtime.” Paul Wood, Project Engineer at Land Rover Jaguar (April 2012).
“The course is generally well organized, educative, informative and well packaged. The interactive nature of the course made it outstanding.” Nwachukivu Charles Uchenna, Assistant Director Laboratory Services at NAFDAC Nigeria (April 2012).
“All the basics were explained really well and illustrated with practical examples. I feel that I am better able to make decisions when analysis or trying to adjust a current method.” Senior Radiation Protection Scientist (April 2012).
“Some experience of GC would be good before attending – a lot of information is presented and is easier to follow if you have basic idea of GC. Very good notes. Lots of useful information about method development and important parameters to think about which you don’t get with the training provided by manufacturers – a push button course (e.g. volume of inlet liner).” Laboratory Technician, Chemical Engineering.
“Very useful to design an instrument for particular applications; this should be more extensive in future courses taught. To go through all instrumentation components was very useful. Suggestions for equipment maintenance and method optimisation was of great value for equipment procurement.” Lab Manager, Energy Industry.
“Instructors very passionate, very thorough information taught very well. This course is infused with a “can do” and “want to do” attitude; tackling the installation of a sniffport to our 3rd GC is not as daunting anymore as before the course. But in a 5-day option, day 4 is a summary of days 1-3.” Corinna Heuss, Analyst, Firmenich UK Ltd.
“A lot of material covered throughout the week.” Patricia Callinan, Waters.
“The practical approach and the balance between the theory and practical was well thought through.” Sanja Potgieter-Vermaak, lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.
“Very thorough and well presented. Course notes and slides [were suited as] a great stepwise approach to the whole topic.” Analyst, Pharmaceutical Industry