The attribution of an unknown GC-MS chromatographic peak to a specific
substance should be confirmed whenever possible by comparison with a
standard compound analysed under the same experimental conditions. The
range of chemicals supplied by various companies is very wide but can
never be completely comprehensive. This paper proposes two simple way
s by which a reference compound may be obtained. Firstly, it may occur
as an impurity in a commercial sample as a synthesis by-product. Alte
rnatively, the compound may be synthesized by a simple procedure, pref
erably a single step one, by putting small amounts of reagents in a se
aled glass vial placed in a programmable oven. Examples of these two a
pproaches are described.