Gas chromatography mass spectrometry equipment

There are various options when it comes to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) equipments. The options range in price and footprint depending on the sensitivity required and the manufacturer of the instrument.

Agilent (Hewlett-Packard) lead the industry when it comes to Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) equipments. Agilent's GC-MS have the quality and sensitivity while the price still being affordable compared to other manufacturers.

Some of the other Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) equipment manufacturers are  Shimadzu, Perkin-Elmer, Thermo-Finnigan,

There are several types of mass spectrometer detectors

The most common type of mass spectrometer (MS) associated with a gas chromatograph (GC) is the quadrupole mass spectrometer, sometimes referred to by the Hewlett-Packard(now Agilent) trade name "Mass Selective Detector" (MSD). Another relatively common detector is the ion trap mass spectrometer. Additionally one may find a magnetic sector mass spectrometer, however these particular instruments are expensive and bulky and not typically found in high-throughput service laboratories. Other detectors may be encountered such as time of flight (TOF), tandem quadrupoles (MS-MS) (see below), or in the case of an ion trap MSⁿ where n indicates the number mass spectrometry stages.

[edit]GC-tandem MS

When a second phase of mass fragmentation is added, for example using a second quadrupole in a quadrupole instrument, it is called tandem MS (MS/MS). MS/MS can sometimes be used to quantitate low levels of target compounds in the presence of a high sample matrix background.

The first quadrupole (Q1) is connected with a collision cell (q2) and another quadrupole (Q3). Both quadrupoles can be used in scanning or static mode, depending on the type of MS/MS analysis being performed. Types of analysis include product ion scan, precursor ion scan, selected reaction monitoring (SRM) (sometimes referred to as multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)) and neutral loss scan. For example: When Q1 is in static mode (looking at one mass only as in SIM), and Q3 is in scanning mode, one obtains a so-called product ion spectrum (also called "daughter spectrum"). From this spectrum, one can select a prominent product ion which can be the product ion for the chosen precursor ion. The pair is called a "transition" and forms the basis for SRM. SRM is highly specific and virtually eliminates matrix background.

[edit]Ionization

After the molecules travel the length of the column, pass through the transfer line and enter into the mass spectrometer they are ionized by various methods with typically only one method being used at any given time. Once the sample is fragmented it will then be detected, usually by an electron multiplier diode, which essentially turns the ionized mass fragment into an electrical signal that is then detected.

The ionization technique chosen is independent of using full scan or SIM.

[edit]Electron ionization

By far the most common and perhaps standard form of ionization is electron ionization (EI). The molecules enter into the MS (the source is a quadrupole or the ion trap itself in an ion trap MS) where they are bombarded with free electrons emitted from a filament, not unlike the filament one would find in a standard light bulb. The electrons bombard the molecules, causing the molecule to fragment in a characteristic and reproducible way. This "hard ionization" technique results in the creation of more fragments of low mass to charge ratio (m/z) and few, if any, molecules approaching the molecular mass unit. Hard ionization is considered by mass spectrometrists as the employ of molecular electron bombardment, whereas "soft ionization" is charge by molecular collision with an introduced gas. The molecular fragmentation pattern is dependant upon the electron energy applied to the system, typically 70 eV (electron Volts). The use of 70 eV facilitates comparison of generated spectra with library spectra using manufacturer-supplied software or software developed by the National Institute of Standards (NIST-USA). Spectral library searches employ matching algorithms such as Probability Based Matching^[5] and dot-product^[6] matching that are used with methods of analysis written by many method standardization agencies. Sources of libraries include NIST,^[7] Wiley,^[8] the AAFS,^[9] and instrument manufacturers.

[edit]Cold electron ionization

The "hard ionization" process of electron ionization can be softened by the cooling of the molecules before their ionization, resulting in mass spectra that are richer in information^[10][11]. In this method named cold electron ionization (Cold-EI) the molecules exit the GC column, mixed with added helium make up gas and expand into vacuum through a specially designed supersonic nozzle, forming a supersonic molecular beam (SMB). Collisions with the make up gas at the expanding supersonic jet reduce the internal vibrational (and rotational) energy of the analyte molecules, hence reducing the degree of fragmentation caused by the electrons during the ionization process^[10][11]. Cold-EI mass spectra are characterized by an abundant molecular ion while the usual fragmentation pattern is retained, thus making Cold-EI mass spectra compatible with library search identification techniques. The enhanced molecular ions increase the identification probabilities of both known and unknown compounds, amplify isomer mass spectral effects and enable the use of isotope abundance analysis for the elucidation of elemental formulae^[12].

[edit]Chemical ionization

In chemical ionization a reagent gas, typically methane or ammonia is introduced into the mass spectrometer. Depending on the technique (positive CI or negative CI) chosen, this reagent gas will interact with the electrons and analyte and cause a 'soft' ionization of the molecule of interest. A softer ionization fragments the molecule to a lower degree than the hard ionization of EI. One of the main benefits of using chemical ionization is that a mass fragment closely corresponding to the molecular weight of the analyte of interest is produced.

In positive chemical ionization (PCI) the reagent gas interacts with the target molecule, most often with a proton exchange. This produces the species in relatively high amounts.

In negative chemical ionization (NCI) the reagent gas decreases the impact of the free electrons on the target analyte. This decreased energy typically leaves the fragment in great supply.