Pyrolysis-gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry of macromolecular material in meteorites

A number of extraterrestrial objects, such as meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, are l;known to contain organic matter in the form of compl ex macromolecular materials. These organic networks constitute a useful rec ord of the extraterrestrial environment in which they were formed. This rec ord is most successfully accessed by using a combination of isotopic and st ructural data. However, obtaining this type of information with current ana lytical strategies involves relatively large amounts of precious extraterre strial samples. We have assessed the ability of on-line pyrolysis-gas chrom atography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (Py-GC-IRMS) to obtain isotopic a nd structural information from the macromolecular material in the Murchison meteorite. Py-GC-IRMS provides results that are consistent with previously published data from other analytical strategies, but with considerably red uced sample sizes. Py-GC-IRMS; can now be used to obtain combined isotopic and structural information from macromolecular materials in milligram-sized extraterrestrial samples. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.