Multireflecting gas chromatography-multireflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometer with high dynamic range

Abstract

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) is a cornerstone technique for analyses of volatile and semivolatile compounds, constantly evolving to meet new challenges. The adoption of time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOFMS) has enhanced GC–MS with faster spectral acquisition and broader mass coverage, enabling rapid GC separations. Multireflecting TOFMS (MRT) further improves resolution compared to traditional single-reflecting TOFMS, facilitating the detection of minor analytes within complex matrices. This paper presents a significant improvement in MRT sensitivity and dynamic range achieved through an ion beam compression within the ion guide and the use of a conventionally oriented orthogonal accelerator. Sensitivity is improved to 100 000 ion/pg at a resolution of R = 25,000, enabling the detection of low fg analyte quantities within 3 μg of matrix material into MS. The demonstrated linear dynamic range exceeding 6 orders of magnitude potentially enables even deeper exploration of complex mixtures with a bench top instrument.