This note describes aspects of these improvements important to the successful implementation of more rapid gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, in both scan and selected-ion monitoring modes.
The document explains that higher productivity in gas chromatography requires faster mass spectrometric acquisition to capture information from narrower peaks. The new Performance Electronics of the Agilent 5973 Inert MSD were developed to maintain signal intensity and spectral quality while providing scan speeds up to 10,000 amu per second.
The text details how to select appropriate scan speeds based on whether the analysis is qualitative or quantitative. For quantitative studies requiring ion-ratio accuracy, 8 to 10 scans over a peak are necessary. For qualitative surveys where spectral quality is paramount, 4 to 5 scans are sufficient. The document provides charts and examples illustrating the relationship between mass range, sample numbers (averages), and effective scan speed.
Ten scans are necessary to establish ion ratios to approximately 1%.
The electronics provide scan speeds up to 10,000 amu per second.
No less than 4 scans over a peak should be provided for qualitative studies.