Gas chromatography (GC) is a widely used technique whose first applications date back more than 60 years. Since then, development has continued making the best use of the extreme sensitivity, versatility, the possibilities of automation and the ease with which new analyses can be developed. Because separation of compound mixtures on the column occurs while they are in the gaseous state, solid and liquid samples must first be vaporized. This represents, without hesitation, the greatest constraint of gas phase chromatography and weighs against it,
since its use is limited to the study of thermostable and sufficiently volatile compounds. However, the applications are numerous in all domains and the development of high speed or multidimensional gas chromatography make this technique even more attractive. Its very great sensitivity permits detection of quantities of the order of picograms for certain compounds.