Array detectors advantages

The major advantage of array detectors over point ion detectors lies in their ability to measure a range of m/z values and the corresponding ion abundances all at one time, rather than sequentially. For example, suppose it takes 10 msec to measure one m/z value and the associated number of ions (abundance). To measure 100 such ions sequentially with a point ion detector would necessitate 1000 msec (1 sec) for the array detector, the time is still 10 msec because all ions arrive at the same time. Therefore, when it is important to be able to measure a range of ion m/z values in a short space of time, the array detector is advantageous. 

The ions in a beam that has been dispersed in space according to their various m/z values can be collected simultaneously by a planar assembly of small electron multipliers. All ions within a specified mass range are detected at the same time, giving the array detector an advantage for analysis of very small quantities of any one substance or where ions are produced intermittently during short time intervals. 

The versatility and advantages of the diode array detector are obvious but it is basically a research instrument or, from the point of view of the analyst, would be extremely useful in method development. Its use in routine analysis, however, might be considered vernacularly as "overkill". In any routine analysis, its versatility would be hardly used and its expense might be difficult to justify. 

ICP-MS presents various shortcomings as compared to the requirements of an ideal PS-MS technique (Tables 8.62 and 8.56). Simultaneous detectors, as in ToF-MS or array-detector atomic mass spectra (ADAMS), offer several advantages in terms of sensitivity, precision, LOD (50ppq), resolving power and sample throughput. PS-ToFMS and ICP-ADAMS are still in their infancy. 

UV detection, diode-array detector (DAD) and fluorescence have been the detection techniques used, coupled to HPLC for the analysis of OTC. UV detection is set at 355 nm [49-51], 350 nm [40], or at 353 nm [52], Using the diode array detector [49] offers advantages that the target peak can be identified by its retention time and absorption spectrum. Compared to UV detection, fluorescence detection is generally more specific and is less interfered by other compounds in the sample matrix [51]. A HPLC method with electrochemical detection has also been suggested recently. Zhao et al. [53] described HPLC with a coulometric electrode array system for the analysis of OTC, TC, CTC, DC, and methacycline (MC) in ovine milk. An amper-ometric detection coupled with HPLC was developed by Kazemifard and Moore [54] for the determination of tetracyclines in pharmaceutical formulations. 

Light detection can also be achieved by semiconductor photodiodes or by photodiode array detectors. Their sensitivity, so far, is lower than that of PMTs but they possess the great advantages of much smaller dimensions and lower demand on power supply. These features make them attractive, especially for the construction of portable chemiluminometers. The sensitivity of these detectors... 

What is a diode array detector, and what are its advantages ... 

Because polyphenolics show chemical complexities and similar structures, isolation and quantification of the individual polyphenolic compounds have been challenging. Many traditional techniques (paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, column chromatography) have been used. HPLC, with its merits of exacting resolution, ease of use, and short analysis time, has the further advantage that separation and quantification occur simultaneously. A reversed-phase HPLC apparatus equipped with a diode array detector makes possible the easy isolation and separation of many polyphenolics. For enhanced performance of HPLC separation, the polyphenolics should first be isolated into several fractions to effectively separate the individual polyphenolics (Jaworski and Lee, 1987 Oszmianski and Lee, 1990). 

The major difficulty in analyzing OPPs in fatty samples has to do with the wide polarity range for both pesticides and lipids present in the matrix. Normal-phase HPLC is an adequate technique for cleaning up this type of sample using silica gel and modifiers with different polarity. In fact, an automated sample-cleanup system based on normal-phase HPLC using a silica gel column has been reported efficiently to clean up and fractionate chlorpyriphos, chlorpyriphos methyl, and their metabolites in molluscs. The system presents several advantages The procedure is fully automated, from the injection of the extract to the collection of fractions, which are injected directly into the GC system, and a diode array detector (DAD) allows online monitoring of the elution of lipids (68). 

The use of LC also has increased in use in recent years, driven by greater sensitivities of the detectors. Traditional ultraviolet (UV) and photo diode-array detectors were frequently employed in triazine analysis, but advances in source designs have provided efficient coupling of MS with LC. The advantage of LC is the ability to analyze polar metabolites not amenable to analysis using GC. Recent progress in LC/MS/MS instrumentation has enabled the direct aqueous injection (DAI) of a water sample without prior cleanup. 

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