Features and Applications of Newly-Developed GC-TOFMS “The AccuTOF GC”
Introduction
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.
By the way, “fast GC”, one of the GC methods, has become to attract attention recently. The fast GC method can shorten the analysis time remarkably while keeping a good separation ability equal to the conventional GC methods, by using a narrow and short column of about 0.1 mm inside diameter and 10 m long. The fast GC method, adopted in a GC-MS system, has the ability to improve the system throughput. However, it requires a fast spectrum- acquisition speed to the mass spectrometer, because the chromatograph peaks are narrower in time than a conventional GC. TOFMS only has the ability to satisfy the demand for fast spectrum-acquisition speed at the present time, but the existing GC-TOFMS systems are not satisfactory by either of the following reasons: it can follow the fast speed of the fast GC, but its mass resolution is too low to measure accurate mass, or, on the inverse, it has a mass resolution high enough to measure accurate masses but cannot follow the fast speed of the fast GC.