From Gas Analysis to Analytica 2026: 3 Research Studies Presented

From 27 to 29 January, during Gas Analysis in Paris, SIAD chemicals Francesco Pigazzini, Lorenzo Generali and Simone Colleoni presented three research works focused on the development and validation of calibration gas mixtures for highly complex analytical applications.

This article presents the studies and concludes with the participation of SIAD at Analytica 2026, where the developed solutions and further innovations will be showcased.

Gaseous standard for PFAS analysis

PFAS are very resistant pollutants, due to the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond. To date, monitoring of these pollutants is mainly carried out in water. 

However, several industrial activities, such as landfills and incinerators, are sources of volatile PFAS. Therefore, monitoring of these substances must also be extended to gaseous matrices. 

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a standardized method, OTM-50, which regulates the sampling and the analysis of Volatile Fluorinated Compounds (VFCs) from stationary emission sources. 

The aim of this work is the production of a gaseous standard which contains all the PFAS reported in the OTM-50. In details, this work is focused on:

• The definition of a gravimetric method to produce the mixture.
• The definition of an analytical method to verify the mixture.
• The study of the stability of the mixture.

Different mixtures were prepared by testing the possibility of analysis by gas chromatography with detectors other than mass spectrometry. 

Multi-component mixtures of PFAS will be produced and analyzed through the techniques described above. 

Production of formaldehyde standard gas mixtures and stability study

Formaldehyde it’s a highly reactive chemical compound, classified by CLP regulation as a carcinogenic compound. It is used in different industrial applications, such as resins and foams production, automotive and aerospace sectors. 

Due to its wide use and its hazardous nature, formaldehyde emissions are strictly regulated. 

For instance, the hydrogen that powers fuel cells is produced by steam reforming of methane and formaldehyde is a byproduct of this process. Formaldehyde could poison the catalyst and could be released in air. So, the limit for formaldehyde in hydrogen fuel cell is set by ISO 14687-2. 

Standard mixtures are needed to calibrate measuring instruments and correctly monitor formaldehyde concentrations.

The target of this work is the production of standard gas mixtures of formaldehyde and the relative stability study. 

The mixtures are produced in 50 liters cylinders at the concentration of 5 μmol/mol and 50 bar of pressure. 

In this work, there is a stability study of formaldehyde gas mixture in nitrogen, produced through the presented process. 

The aim is to understand whether the cylinder walls can act as catalysts and limit the stability of the mixture.

Gaseous reference standard for breath analysis

An increasing amount of research is going into detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath to detect diseases and personalize treatment for patients: recently, these analytes has risen as biomarkers.

For analysis, methods based on gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are the recognized gold standard. To assure reliable results, it is important the use of standards to calibrate the detection systems: the use of gaseous calibration standard is a valuable aid. 

The present work aims to examine different multi-component gas mixtures suitable for breath gas analysis. In addition, also the stability of these mixtures was investigated. 

The number of components tested were divided in three gas mixtures. One of them contain only isotopic molecules. 

All the mixtures were analytically verified with a cross control between them and other mixtures of SIAD laboratory using GC-FID technique.  A stability check is performed using mixtures after 1 year.

The mixtures demonstrated good stability. In particular one of them showed good results with some critical issues for high molecular weight aldehydes. The stability test is still on going.

In conclusion, in breath analysis gas mixtures are a valuable aid to improve reliability of analysis. They represent a new opportunity in this field thank to their flexibility in composition and concentration.

SIAD with Perfecta at Analytica 2026

From 24 to 27 March, SIAD will participate in Analytica 2026, taking place in Munich, Germany, to present the solutions developed within the three studies described above and to further present and discuss the range of metrological gas mixtures and innovative products.

The SIAD–Perfecta stand will be the reference point for discussing the results presented at Gas Analysis and for evaluating applications, configurations and future developments.

To learn more about the technical characteristics of metrological gas mixtures, production methodologies and developed solutions:

Visit the Perfecta website