[Trl]

Hi! I'm doing a quick paper on biodegradation, and wondered if someone could explain me why it's so hard to define the structure of the heavier more complex molecules like asphaltenes with GS. Aren't the GS devices able to turn these compounds into gaseous phase?

Cheers!

[Trl]

And by GS I mean GC... Thank god it's weekend 

[Stepan]

Standard GC can work with thermally stable chemicals with boiling points of up to 550 C. I guess for special applications you can can analyse mixtures with BP 600-700C. But most compounds become unstable at those temperatures. The best bet is LC MS, which is unfortunately not as selective (separation is not as good) as GC. 

[Trl]

Ah ok. Thanks man