Gökhan Baykut

Mobile mass spectrometry; a decade of field applications

Abstract In recent years, mobile mass spectrometry has gained great importance for on-site analytical applications in environmental investigations and emergency analytical determinations. An interesting path has been followed to reach todays state-of-the-art ruggedized mobile and portable instrumentation in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The development of automated sampling systems was also a fundamental support in this transition phase. Fast, routine, and computer-assisted GC-MS analysis on-site usually requires analytical equipment, which should be easy-to-work and hard-to-break, with short down-times. Fast mass spectrometric on-site analyses help protect the population in chemical accidents and help reduce the field investigation times dramatically.

Modular sampling and inlet systems for mobile environmental mass spectrometry

Abstract Sampling systems and gas Chromatographic separators based on a modular concept have been developed for a mobile/portable quadrupole mass spectrometer. A special quick connector, designed to easily mount and remove the gas Chromatograph from the mass spectrometer, allows the operator to switch between different GC modules within minutes. A polysiloxane inlet membrane seals the vacuum chamber and prevents it from being vented, even during the exchange of GC modules. Since the GCs injector modules are designed as separate units, diverse injector systems can also be removed and swapped using similar quick interfaces, while the GC module remains connected to the mass spectrometer. Fast GC runs with short-capillary GC modules accelerate measurements dramatically. Using a spray extractor, volatile organic compounds in water can be sampled and trapped in the sorbent tube of the automatic air sampler for GC-MS analysis. A quick analysis can be made using the transfer-line GC with the sniffer probe. Examples are given of applications involving the analysis of polycyclic aromatics and other contaminants in soil samples, and analytical results on volatile organic compounds in air, in indoor atmospheres and in water. The concept of this modular system makes the whole instrumentation flexible, and permits a wide variety of mass spectrometry applications by using the right combination of sampling modules.