Commercial Instrument Performance Characteristics

Everest 3800 series Thumb-size sensor with remote analog output, 8-14 pm, ranges from 40 to+1100°C. 

Exergen SmartIRt/c, powered ITEc series, and SnakeEye series Wide range of IR thermocouples with standard and custom configurations. 

Mikron M50, M500 IR thermocouples, MI-TS300, and MTDIOO heat switches Various temperature ranges from 0-500°C. 

Omega OS36, OS37, and OS38 series IR thermocouples Modular and hand-held IR thermocouples, various ranges. 

Dickson D166 and 180 series Various models 0 to +950°F, -45 to -i-538°C, hold button, LCD display, laser pointer, emissivity control (e set). 

---

Among organic constituent measurements, that of aggregate properties (BOD and COD) and specific parameters (TOC for example) has been well developed for more than 20 years. Concerning BOD, a recent review on biosensors [33] has been published. BOD biofilm-based sensors as well as respirometric systems, other measuring principles, and the commercial BOD instruments are discussed and compared regarding their performance characteristics like linearity, response time, precision, agreement between BOD values obtained from the biosensors and the conventional 5-day test, as well as toxic resistance to various compounds and operational stability. 

A practical comparison of mass analyzers is given in Table 8.1. Although the performance characteristics of commercial mass analyzers may vary considerably and prototype instruments have been constructed that show exceptional properties, the table tries to give some rough values that are representative for commercial routine mass spectrometers. 

Even though no detector meets the entire criteria, many commercially available instruments, come very close to ideal with respect to performance characteristics. 

The FID is perhaps the most valuable general GLC detector by popular acclaim. Its function and characteristics have been investigated in detail and are described in most books on GLC (e.g.. Ref. 12, 13). A recent paper evaluated its performance in several commercial instruments (14). The FID detects virtually all combustible carbon compounds with high sensitivity and fairly predictable relative response. This lack of selectivity is a virtue in some fields— petroleum chemistry, for example— but it has often cast the FID into the role of a standby in the realm of... 

Acceptance of OIDs by scientists has been a direct result of their success in the field, i.e., their unique performance characteristics and long-term reliability. As more instrumentation based on these devices enters the scientific marketplace, a steady improvement in performance can be expected. Even more important, feedback from an ever increasing number of users should help convince OID manufacturers of the commercial viability of the scientific market, which may result in devices specifically designed for, rather than adapted for, scientific usage. 

The performance characteristics of commercial instrumentation should be supplied by the manufacturers. There are, however, measurement limitations which are controlled by the electrochemical cell under investigation. The major limitations and requirements are listed under their separate headings. 

This tutorial text will familiarize the reader with the operating principles and practical performance characteristics of commercial infrared (IR) thermal sensing and imaging instruments, and will guide the reader in their selection and application. 

Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) is an ECD-like method with most of the same characteristics [21]. Like ECD, ETD yields abundant peptide backbone c- and z-type ions while often retaining such labile groups as peptide O/TV-glycosylation and phosphorylation [22]. Unlike ECD, ETD can be performed in the presence of an RF field. Here, anions created in a chemical ionization (Cl) source (see Section 2.1.7) are used as electron donors but the fragmentation pathways are essentially the same as for ECD. Commercial linear QIT instruments have recently become available with the ETD option. 

---