Recent advances in micro-gas chromatography — The opportunities and the challenges

This paper reviews the last two decades design, fabrication and characterization advances on high performance MEMS-based gas chromatography systems, the related architectures and their constitutive building blocks, which include preconcentrators, microvalves and related sample injection devices, micro-columns, and detectors. Micro-GCs hold potential for rapid analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within extremely compact and low-power platforms. This work presents portable GC analyzers both commercial and under development in research labs, with emphasis on their applications in various fields including air monitoring, industrial processes, and public health.