Calibration method for the gas-chromatographic retention time of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners

A calibration method for the gas-chromatographic (GC) retention time of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners is presented. This method calculates retention time of all PCB congeners in the GC system of an analytical laboratory from one reported in the literature with a commercial PCB mixture and some pure congener standards. Two corrections were implemented to compensate for any retention differences arising from the GC condition changes, such as the column dimensions, temperature programs and flow rates. One is an instrument function correction that compensates for common congener behavior. The other is a selectivity correction that compensates for individual congener behavior. For a selectivity correction, new descriptors of a quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) were developed. The method was applied to several stationary phases to evaluate its ability and precision. The standard errors of the calculated retention times were in most cases within a chromatographic peak width.