New Ground-Breaking Ion Source Technology for Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry to be Introduced at Pittcon

Markes International (UK), a leading innovator and manufacturer of technology for trace organic analysis, has announced that it will be showcasing its new Select-eV technology for gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the first time in North America on its booth (#1519) at Pittcon 2014, to be held on March 2–6 in Chicago.

Select-eV, a variable-energy ion-source technology, breaks new ground in the field of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) by allowing the energy used for electron ionisation to be changed on a sliding scale without loss of sensitivity. This allows the production of both ‘classical’ mass spectra, and repeatable ‘soft-ionisation’ spectra with reduced fragmentation and an enhanced molecular ion.

Explaining the power and capabilities of this new technology, Nick Bukowski, Mass Spectrometry Business Unit Manager at Markes, said “Select-eV allows any ionisation energy from 70 to 10 eV to be simply selected as part of the method. At lower energies the molecular ion is enhanced, but structurally-significant fragments are also retained. This makes Select-eV perfect for any GC–MS analyst needing further confirmation of compound identity, or wanting to distinguish between compounds with spectra that are very similar at 70 eV.” He went on to add that the already exceptional full-spectral sensitivity of Markes’ BenchTOF time-of-flight mass spectrometers for GC is maintained or enhanced even further by the addition of Select-eV.

Previous attempts to develop soft electron ionisation have been compromised by a dramatic drop in sensitivity, but Select-eV overcomes this limitation. It also dispenses with the inconvenience of reagent gases or source exchange that have previously hindered use of lower-energy ionisation techniques.

Select-eV technology was introduced in Europe in January of this year at the 13th International Symposium on Hyphenated Techniques in Chromatography and Separation Technology (HTC-13), where it created a lot of excitement. It is anticipated that it will be equally well received at the Pittcon 2014 conference and exposition.

In addition to Select-eV, Markes will also be showcasing its latest range of BenchTOF mass spectrometers and its world-leading instrumentation, accessories & consumables for concentration and thermal desorption of trace organics. With experience of the deployment of their technologies across a broad range of GC–MS applications, the company believes that their thermal desorption and mass spectrometry products offer increased workflow and other major time-saving and productivity advantages to busy routine and research laboratories. A range of these products and information on how they can be used to enhance GC–MS analyses will be on show at booth #1519.

As part of the scientific content of the meeting, Markes is also presenting several posters on its innovations and technology, focusing on a range of topics from the monitoring of siloxanes in biogas to novel software for objective comparative analysis of complex GC–MS profiles.