Analytical Instrument Documents

Gas chromatography combined with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-HRTOFMS) is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex mixtures. The AccuTOF GC-Alpha (JMS-T2000GC) mass spectrom-eter is fast, accurate and sensitive with high mass-resolving power and high mass accuracy.

Publication containing various applications pertaining to Environment, Food, Flavor, & Fragrance.

Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) are crucial for determining the fat content in food. Being environmentally friendly, they are also increasingly used as bio-diesel fuels. Many of the FAMEs are unsaturated with double bonds in the alkyl chains. As the number of double bonds increases (more unsaturation), the EI measurements tend to lack molecular ions. In this work, we measured a standard sample containing multiple FAMEs using EI and FI to detect their molecular ions. The resulting data was further examined by using msFineAnalysis to produce an integrated report for these compounds in which the library database search was combined with the molecular ion exact mass analysis to produce a qualitative identification of these compounds.

The JEOL “AccuTOF GCv 4G” is a third generation GC/HRTOFMS system with high speed data acquisition capabilities of up to 50Hz which makes it well suited as the detector for comprehensive 2-dimensional GC (GCxGC) measurements. Along with the high speed data acquisition, this MS system also provides high mass resolution, accurate mass measurements, and high sensitivity, all simultaneously. Consequently, this GCxGC/HRTOFMS system is a powerful tool for the qualitative analysis of complicated samples. In this work, we measured commercially available tequila samples using GCxGC/HRTOFMS combined with solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) preparation.

The FastGC method is a very useful technique for doing rapid GC analyses that result in extremely narrow chromatographic peaks over a shorter time period than traditional GC analyses. Additionally, time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOFMS) are capable of very fast data acquisition in comparison with other types of mass spectrometers so they are well suited as the detector for the FastGC technique. Furthermore, when the TOFMS is capable of high resolution measurements, the resulting mass spectra contain accurate mass information that can be used to calculate the elemental compositions for each observed m/z. In this application note, we describe the quanitative analysis of pyrazole pesticides (Fipronil, Ethiprole, Pyraflufen ethyl and Tebfenpyrad) on tea leaves by FastGC/HRTOFMS. Additionally, we confirm that a rapid analysis with high sensitivity is easy to perform and very useful for fast screening.

The FastGC method is a very useful technique for doing rapid GC analyses that result in extremely narrow chromatographic peaks over a shorter time period than traditional GC analyses. Additionally, time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOFMS) are capable of very fast data acquisition in comparison with other types of mass spectrometers so they are well suited as the detector for the FastGC technique. Furthermore, when the TOFMS is capable of high resolution measurements, the resulting mass spectra contain accurate mass information that can be used to calculate the elemental compositions for each observed m/z. In this application note, we describe the qualitative analysis of pyrazole pesticides (Fipronil, Ethiprole, Pyraflufen ethyl and Tebfenpyrad) on tea leaves by FastGC/HRTOFMS. Additionally, we confirm that a rapid analysis with high sensitivity is easy to perform and very useful for fast screening.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) is a kind of continuous heart-cut GC system. Two different types of columns are connected via a modulator in the same GC oven. By using the two columns together, this technique provides very high separation capabilities when compared to one- dimensional GC analysis. However, GC×GC systems require a fast data acquisition detection system in order to record the very narrow time width peaks observed in the GC chromatograms. The JEOL AccuTOF-GC is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) that fully meets this high speed data acquisition requirement at 25Hz (0.04sec) so it can be successfully used as the detection system in combination with GC×GC. In this work, the AccuTOF-GC was used for the qualitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in kerosene by GC×GC -TOFMS.

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.

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.

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.