Significant improvements in the characterization of volatile compound profiles in squid using simultaneous distillation-extraction and GC×GC-TOFMS

The profile of volatiles in squids was characterized using simultaneous distillation-extraction coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC) and Time-of-Flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOFMS). GC×GC-TOFMS improved the resolution and separation efficiency of the compounds; it not only separated the 52 compounds that co-elute in conventional GC-MS, but also allowed the identification of compounds that were not previously detected (e.g. 2-Octanol). The total contents of volatiles detected by GC×GC-TOFM were about 2.5-fold higher than those analyzed by GC-MS. Among 184 volatiles identified by GC×GC-TOFMS, 119 compounds were reported for the first time in squids, compared with the GC-MS data available in the literature. These volatile classes included aromatic hydrocarbons (39), aliphatic hydrocarbons (22), esters (21), aldehydes (20), alcohols (19), sulfo compounds (18), nitrogenous compounds (17), ketones (14), acids (6), furans (5) and phenols (3). This study proposes a methodology and...