ABSTRACT
There are two basic types of gas chromatography (GC) column, the packed column and the open tubular or capillary column. The original packed column, first described by James and Martin, the inventors of GC, consisted of a glass tube 1 m long, 4.5 mm I.D. packed with celite. GC stationary phases can be divided into two classes, those used for gas solid chromatography (GSC) and those used for gas liquid chromatography (GLC). The stationary phases used in GSC are usually adsorbents and thus solute retention is achieved by surface adsorption. In contrast, in GLC the stationary phase is liquid or "liquid-like" (the bonded phases) and thus solutes are retained by absorption or partition. This chapter discusses column packing techniques and explains two basic methods such as static and dynamic, for coating the stationary phase on a capillary column.
