Universal® interface

MAGIC (Monodisperse Aerosol Generating Interface for Chromatography), Thermabeam and Universal interfaces. 

DuPont Sclair solution polymerization technology, 20 196 DuPont—University Interface Model,... 

Comparison of the results in the ionisation of AES obtained from the different API techniques in positive or negative mode, which were presented in Fig. 2.5.10 proved that neither APCI nor ESI can be termed as a universal interface. 

Universal interface made to be compatible with any Transmission Electron Microscope (INTER1)... 

Again, there is a universal interface which adjusts the output of the precession signal generator and/or the scan generator, suitable for input into the coils of the TEM. This system is independent from the presence (or not) of STEM unit in a TEM, and can also be adapted to other types of transmission microscopes. 

From 1988, several commercial adaptations of the MAGIC [71] were described (Ch. 4.8). The PBI most closely resembles the MAGIC. It contains a more user-friendly and robust momentum separator and the cross-flow pneumatic nebulizer is replaced by a concetrfric pneumatic nebulizer [82-83]. In the thermabeam interface a TSP nebtrlizer is trsed [84]. The universal interface features the use of a TSP nebulizer and a cormtercrrrrent gas-diffusion membrane separator between the... 

In subsequent years (1988), the MAGIC system was commerciahzed, first by Hewlett-Packard (nowadays Agilent Technologies), and subsequently by other instrument manufacturers. Four commercial versions of the system have been available (1) the particle-beam interface, featuring an adjustable concentric pneumatic nebulizer, (2) the thermabeam interface with a combined pneumatic-TSP nebulizer, (3) the universal interface, in which TSP nebulization and an additional gas diffusion membrane is applied, and (4) the capillary-EI interface, which resulted from systematic modifications to existing PBI systems by Cappiello [83]. The first system was most widely used, and is discussed in more detail below. For some years, PBI was widely used for environmental analysis, especially in the US. 

The dramatic increase in the number of publications devoted to LC/MS over the last decade is a strong indication that further progress in this field is assured. This scientific competition and exploration between the current approaches will eventually result in the development of a more universal interface. Until that time, the three major interface types will continue to be used for a ever widening variety of compound classes pushing the limits via modifications to the principal designs. 

A new universal interface and combination ion source is described which allows choice of ionization modes among electron impact (El), chemical ionization (Cl), and Thermospray. Results obtained with this system on a Vestec Model 201 LC-MS are presented for some test compounds and some environmentally important compounds on the Appendix VIII list. The relative advantages of the different ionization modes for compound identification and quantitation are discussed and data are presented on the performance of the system. 

The new Thermospray "Universal Interface" was been developed to allow HPLC to be properly coupled to conventional El and Cl mass spectrometry. A block diagram of the new interface is shown in Figure 1. The LC effluent is directly coupled to a Thermospray vaporizer in which most, but not all, of the solvent is vaporized and the remaining unvaporized material is carried along as an aerosol in the high velocity vapor jet which is produced. The operation and control of the thermospray device has been described in detail elsewhere. (1)... 

Figure 1. Block diagram of new "Universal Interface" between HPLC and El mass spectrometry.

The unique part of the Universal Interface is the membrane separator or gas diffusion cell which allows the solvent vapor to be efficiently removed with essentially no loss of sample contained in the aerosol particles. In this device the aerosol is transported through a central channel bounded on the sides by a gas diffusion membrane or filter medium which is in contact with a countercurrent flow of a sweep gas. For El mass spectrometry helium appears to be most useful for both the carrier and sweep gas. The properties of the... 

Detector MS, Finnigan 4023, particle beam interface (Vestec universal interface model 700), electron impact mode 77 eV, scan m/z 200-350 (positive ion), multiplier voltage 1200 V, source 300° UV 365... 

At the same time, several areas that have been relatively neglected came to mind as we prepared this chapter. Relatively little has been done so far on the chemistry/mathematics interface (Roberts, 1999), or on the problems that students face at the secondary/tertiary (high school/university) interface... 

Brown, Alfred E. "The Industry/University Interface in America Today." Paper presented at the American Society for Metals, Materials, and Processes Congress, Cleveland, Ohio, October 28-30, 1980. 18 pp. 

Building such an intelligent interface certainly could appear as a too ambitious project. In fact it would be but only if the purpose would be to build an universal interface, capable of working with anyone about any problem. However it is not our aim. I am convinced of the possibility of reaching this goal under the condition that the interface would be concerned with a very strictly limited knowledge domain. 

One interface for many devices A single universal interface is provided for connecting different kinds of devices (printer, monitor, storage devices). 

MacBride, G., Hayward, E.L., Hayward, G., Spencer, E., EkevaU, E., Magill, J., Bryce, A.C., Stimpson, B. Engineering the future embedded engineering permanently across the school-university interface. IEEE Trans. Educ. 53(1), 120-127 (2010)... 

The kind of data retrieved is another important consideration. Control characters are different in different systems, so this must be taken into account. The kinds of data a scientist might search and retrieve include not only text but also images, chemical structures, and numerics. In the United States, we use Latin characters generally, but chemistry and other fields require Greek and other special characters as well. But even handling text alone is not as simple as it may sound remember, the English-speaking world is only part of the audience. We believe a truly universal interface eventually should be able to handle the Japanese, Chinese, and Cyrillic alphabets too. 

The universal interface is thus an exciting objective, but, related to it, and equally important, is the need for standards which allow the transfer of data between many different chemical structure handling systems. 

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