A Quantitative Universal Detection System for Organic Compounds in Gas Chromatography with Isotopically Enriched 13CO2

Cheap and cheerful: Postcolumn carbon-isotope dilution with 13CO2 in combination with the coupling of gas chromatography, combustion, and EIMS (valve in position B in the picture) provides a generic quantitative approach for every organic compound without the need for specific standards. A GC–MS instrument can be upgraded by a simple low-cost modification without any loss of the structural information provided by electron ionization sources.