Making Out-of-this-World Measurements with Durable GC Columns

It took the Cassini spacecraft and its companion Huygens probe seven years and 2.2 billion miles to travel from Earth to Saturn. After hitching a ride through the solar system, Huygens went its separate way on December 24, 2004, and headed for Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. On January 14, 2005, the probe entered Titan's mysterious atmosphere—one thought to be similar to that of the primitive Earth. Analysis of the atmosphere's composition is a key goal of the Cassini/Huygens mission.

Slowed by a series of three parachutes, the probe's descent to the surface took 2½ hours. On the way down, it used six on-board instruments to sample the atmosphere and perform a variety of measurements. Huygens beamed the results to Cassini, which forwarded 474 Mb of data back to Earth. Once scientists analyze the data from Titan—a process that will take years—they may discover new insights about the chemical evolution of Earth.

Handling harsh environments on Earth

The probe's complement of instruments includes a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer (GCMS) designed and configured specifically for this mission. Before its departure, the system was fitted with a customized GC column built jointly by scientists at Agilent and Ohio State University. While most capillary GC columns are made of fragile fused silica, researchers opted for the greater mechanical robustness of stainless steel. The column was treated with Agilent's proprietary DB-ProSteel process, which was found to be robust and enables coating with a variety of stationary phases. In this case, the team at Ohio State coated the column with a glassy carbon polymer stationary phase developed by Dr. Susan Olesik and her team of researchers.

After seven years in space, the Huygens probe made a soft, successful landing on Titan. Over the next several weeks, scientists hope to see analytical data that describes the composition of Titan's atmosphere.

Today, Agilent offers a commercial line of DB-ProSteel columns that is virtually unbreakable and well suited for harsh environments right here on Earth. What's more, these columns provide inertness that rivals fused silica and are available in a wide range of stationary phases. DB-ProSteel columns can also be custom wound for small GC ovens.

The toughest earthbound GCMS work can benefit from the durability of DB-ProSteel columns. And, with any luck, there won't be a seven-year wait for the first measurements.

For more information

To learn more about our standard and custom lines, see the GC & GC/MS Columns section of our website. For information about other Agilent chemical analysis products and resources, please visit the Life Sciences/Chemical Analysis main page.