Analytical Instrument Documents

Structural elucidation of hydrocarbon classes in petroleum products are always in high demand. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS) with electron ionization (EI) is a powerful method for characterizing complex mixtures such as base oils. However, EI data can often lack a strong molecular ion signal. Therefore, it is necessary to measure samples with soft-ionization methods such as positive chemical ionization (PCI), field ionization (FI), or photo-ionization (PI) for the detection of molecular ions. Each technique is a little different so it is important to understand the characteristics of each soft ionization method. In this application note, we compare the mass spectra of a base oil analyzed by GCxGC-TOFMS with EI, PCI, FI, and PI.

The high boiling point compounds cholesterol and Irganox® 1010, an anti-oxidant additive for polymers, were analyzed by GC/MS. The analyses were performed using electron ionization (EI) and field ionization (FI), which is a soft ionization method, to show the difference in mass spectral patterns that result from these two ionization techniques.

A gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) is a combined analyzer that has superior ability in analyzing organic compounds qualitatively and quantitatively. The first part, gas chromatograph, separates the compounds included in a sample (mixture), then the second part, mass spectrometer, obtains mass spectra of the compounds to carry out qualitative analysis. Quantitative analysis can be carried out as well from the peak area of the mass chromatogram of the compound. As a mass spectrometer of a GC-MS system, several types of mass spectrometers are on the market, such as magnetic field, quadrupole (QMS), ion trap (ITD), and time-of-flight (TOF). Each mass spectrometer has its own features and applications.

Transformer oil containing no PCBs was diluted 10,000 times, and then this solution was spiked with a mixture of commercially available PCBs (KC-500). The resulting sample was analyzed by using the JEOL AccuTOF-GC with FastGC/MS conditions. Afterwards, the data was examined by varying the mass range window (called "window width") used for the PCB reconstructed ion chromatogram (RIC) to determine if the effect of the background impurities can be eliminated so that the analyte peaks are easily observed in the resulting data.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) in combination with high-resolution mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex mixtures. In this work, we analyzed a diesel fuel sample by using GC x GC in combination with a new high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (HR-TOFMS) . Field ionization (FI) produced molecular ions for all components and exact mass measurements were used to obtain elemental compositions. A traditional Kendrick Mass Defect (KMD) plot was used to identify hydrocarbon groups in the diesel fuel sample.

Triazolam is a benzodiazepine with a very short elimination half-life. The range is reported to be 1.5 to 5.5 hours. Due to its frequent use as a sedative and its potential to affect human activities such as driving, an unambiguous and sensitive analysis method is needed for its identification and quantitation. Generally, for determination of triazolam, screen tests are performed in biological samples followed by confirmation and quantitation with GC/MS. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility by using the JEOL AccuTOF™ GC, time-of-flight mass spectrometer with accurate mass measurement and negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) capabilities for triazolam determination. D4-triazolam was used as internal standard. The mass accuracy without internal reference is smaller than 2 mmu. The limit of detection is 5 ng/mL. The quantitation standard curve can be linear from 5 ng/mL to 1000 ng/mL with R2 of 0.9992. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that triazolam has been detected by GC/time-of-flight mass spectrometry with accurate mass measurement.

Field Desorption (FD) is a technique that ionizes analytes by electron tunneling from the analyte molecules to a solid surface (emitter) in a high electric field. The sample is applied directly onto the emitter and heated by applying an electric current through the emitter for desorption and ionization. FD has been used for the analysis of nonvolatile compounds, synthetic polymers, etc., as a soft ionization method to produce molecular ions with little or no fragmentations. As a result, the average molecular weight of a sample can be calculated directly from the masses (or “m/z”) and intensities for all of the ions observed in the FD mass spectrum. Furthermore, by applying group-type analysis, the components can be classified into types based on their functional groups and/or unsaturations. Average molecular weight, polydispersity index, or relative abundance of each type can also be obtained. In this work, new and used rotary vacuum pump (RP hereafter) oils were analyzed by FD. Afterwards, the change in their compositions was determined by performing group-type analysis on the resulting mass spectra.

Advances in mass spectrometry are enabling analysis of micro samples and unknown components that were not observable before. As the volume of information acquired from mass spectrometry increases, researchers are calling for simple techniques to analyze numerous components observed, and as a result, there is a rise in demand for comprehensive analytical techniques including multiple classification analysis. In this work, we will introduce a new technique for non-target analysis, which combines comprehensive analysis using high resolution GC-TOFMS and unknown component analysis using soft ionization.

Advances in mass spectrometry are enabling analysis of micro samples and unknown components that were not observable before. As the volume of information acquired from mass spectrometry increases, researchers are calling for simple techniques to analyze numerous components observed, and as a result, there is a rise in demand for comprehensive analytical techniques including multiple classification analysis. In this work, we will introduce a new technique of non-targeted analysis, which combines comprehensive analysis using high resolution GC-MS and unknown component analysis using soft ionization and EI.

Migration of mineral oil from packaging into food has become a health concern, especially since mineral oil affects the liver and lymph nodes. There are two types of mineral oil: mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). Both types are generally measured using online coupled liquid chromatography–gas chromatography–flame ionization detection 2only to separate and detect target fractions, and it may miss other important, unexpected compounds. By contrast, two-dimensional gas chromatography–high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC–HRTOF–MS) is a comprehensive technique for analyzing complex samples. Using EI with this method allows for NIST database searches. Moreover, using a combination of high-resolution molecular-ion information generated via soft-ionization techniques with an EI NIST database search can result in more-reliable assignments. In this study, we used GCxGC–HRTOFMS with EI and photoionization (PI) soft-ionization techniques to identify compounds in cardboard.