Separation and identification of hydrocarbons and other volatile compounds from cultured blue-green alga Nostoc sp. by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using serially coupled capillary columns with consecutive nonpolar and semipolar stationary phases.

The complex hydrocarbons and volatile compounds produced by cultured blue-green alga Nostoc sp. were separated by serially coupled capillary columns with consecutive nonpolar and semipolar stationary phases. More than 130 metabolites including, cyclohexane, cyclopentane, normal saturated hydrocarbons (C7-C30), fatty acids and benzene derivatives were identified by GC-MS. The most abundant family of hydrocarbons identified were derivatives of cyclohexane (41) and cyclopentane (11). Most of these compounds have not been reported previously in blue-green algae studies.