Mass spectrometer, types analyser

Specificity is unsurpassed. Traditionally, MS was performed on very large and expensive high-resolution sector instruments operated by experienced specialists. The introduction of low-resolution (1 amu), low-cost, bench-top mass spectrometers in the early 1980s provided analysts with a robust analytical tool with a more universal range of application. Two types of bench-top mass spectrometers have predominated the quadrupole or mass-selective detector (MSD) and the ion-trap detector (ITD). These instruments do not have to be operated by specialists and can be utilized routinely by residue analysts after limited training. The MSD is normally operated in the SIM mode to increase detection sensitivity, whereas the ITD is more suited to operate in the full-scan mode, as little or no increase in sensitivity is gained by using SIM. Both MSDs and ITDs are widely used in many laboratories for pesticide residue analyses, and the preferred choice of instrument can only be made after assessment of the performance for a particular application. 

As with GC/MS, LC/MS offers the possibility of unequivocal confirmation of analyte identity and accurate quantiation. Similarly, both quadrupole and ion-trap instruments are commercially available. However, the responses of different analytes are extremely dependent on the type of interface used to remove the mobile phase and to introduce the target analytes into the mass spectrometer. For pesticide residue analyses, the most popular interfaces are electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). Both negative and positive ionization can be used as applicable to produce characteristically abundant ions. 

Each of the analyser types has a unique set of figures of merit that makes it optimally suited for particular applications (Table 6.27). The main ionisation modes in relation to various mass spectrometers are summarised in Table 6.28. 

A mass spectrometer is often indispensable for a complete analysis of low-pressure gases, but a description of the various types of spectrometers is beyond the purpose of this book, but see, for example, ref. [18]. We simply remind that a mass spectrometer consists of three parts an ion source where the neutral gas is ionized (usually by electron bombardment) an analyser where ions are selected according to their mass to charge ratio and a collector with an amplifier to measure the weak ion current. 

Mass spectrometers have been used at some level in all of these types of investigations because of their unsurpassed sensitivity and specificity, their multicomponent analytical capability and, in some cases, their ability to provide precise and accurate isotope ratios. Traditional methods of analysis typically involve the collection of water and sediment samples, or biological specimens, during field expeditions and cmises on research vessels (R/Vs), and subsequent delivery of samples to a shore-based laboratory for mass spectrometric analyses. The recent development of field-portable mass spectrometers, however, has greatly facilitated prompt shipboard analyses. Further adaptation of portable mass spectrometer technology has also led to construction of submersible instruments that can be deployed at depth for in situ measurements. 

Other types of mass spectrometers are available, but those mentioned earlier are the most commonly used in analyses of soil and soil extracts. 

Mass spectrometry enables the type of direct analyses described, but it does have its limitations. Online operation forces detection at infusion concentrations, in salty buffer and under complex mixture conditions. General ion suppression results from the buffer and mixture components, and mixture complexity can tax the resolution of even the best mass spectrometers. Increasing compound concentration is not the answer, as this leads to problems of solubility and increased compound consumption. We have found that the online method can work successfully for up to 100 compounds per analysis, but the false negative rate becomes appreciable [21]. As an alternative for ligand discovery purposes, we have developed a FAC-LC/MS system in which FAC effluent is sampled and analyzed by LC/MS [19]. This system offers the ability to concentrate mixture components and introduces another dimension to the data in order to tolerate more complex mixtures (Fig. 6.9). Using this system, we have screened approximately 1000 modified trisaccharide acceptor analogs targeting immobilized N-... 

The main purpose of this work is to determine the IPGE contents of chromites from mantle podiform chromitites, from crustal stratiform chromitites and from various types of lavas. The analyses have been carried out by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICPMS) which allows in-sltu determination of trace elements in chromite. 

Since the development of HPLC as a separation technique, considerable effort has been spent on the design and improvement of suitable detectors. The detector is perhaps the second-most important component of an HPLC system, after the column that performs the actual separation it would be pointless to perform any separation without some means of identifying the separated components. To this end, a number of analytical techniques have been employed to examine either samples taken from a fraction collector or the column effluent itself. Although many different physical principles have been examined for their potential as chromatography detectors, only four main types of detectors have obtained almost universal application, namely, ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, refractive index (RI), fluorescence, and conductivity detectors. Today, these detectors are used in about 80% of all separations. Newer varieties of detector such as the laser-induced fluorescence (LIE), electrochemical (EC), evaporative light scattering (ELS), and mass spectrometer (MS) detectors have been developed to meet the demands set by either specialized analyses or by miniaturization. 

In metabolism, more specifically newborn screening for amino acids and acyl-carnitines, we use two other types of MS/MS analyses the precursor and neutral loss scans. In both types of scan, the question is asked where did I come from In other words, a fragment of a molecule is detected that is unique or common to a particular molecule or family of structurally similar molecules. Because the instruments are linked in space rather than time, when a particular product is detected in the second mass spectrometer (MS2), the computer software knows what mass was being scanned in the first mass spectrometer (MSI). The difference between a precursor ion and neutral loss scan is the nature of the product. With a precursor ion scan, that product of interest is also an ion and it can be detected. With a neutral loss... 

Many applications of mass spectrometry do not require high resolution. Thus, other types of smaller, less expensive and lower performance mass spectrometers have been developed. Quadrupole mass filters that use an electric field to separate ions are in this category. These devices are used as mass detectors (GC/MS, LC/MS and ICP/MS) and in a variety of industrial processes for gas and residual gas analyses. 

Instruments that incorporate two or three mass analysers in a series have been developed to study ion fragmentation. Several of the same type of mass analyser can constitute a tandem mass spectrometer, or they can be constructed using different mass analysers (hybrids). Hybrid spectrometers include the combination of magnetic sector followed by quadrupole, multiple quadrupole, quadrupole TOF, etc. In these instruments, a collision cell is placed between each analyser (Fig. 16.23). Tandem instruments have different scanning modes. 

Acceleration mass spectrometry (AMS) - The precise measurement of isotopic ratios for very low abundance isotopes is beyond the capability of conventional mass spectrometers. In these cases of isotopes at minute trace levels, some 50 mass spectrometers exist worldwide. The tendetrons used for these types of analyses are derived from Van de Graaff-type particle accelerators. These instruments are based on tandem mass spectrometry. 

It has been the purpose of this paper to provide an overview of the basic differences and similarities of the various types of Instruments which detect Ionized particles emitted from surfaces by energetic particle bombardment. Since the scope of secondary ion mass spectrometry Is so broad, It is not surprising that no one Instrument has been designed to perform optimally for all types of SIMS analyses. Design aspects of the primary beam, extraction optics, mass spectrometer, detection equipment and vacuum system must be considered to construct an Instrument best suited for a particular purpose. 

---