Agilent GC/MS links labs together
first gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) system with a
user interface that allows the electronic sharing of application
methods.
This interface eliminates the need to manually create an application method on new instrumentation and accelerates the transfer and standardisation of methods across laboratories, said the company. Called the Agilent 5975 Inert MSD, the new system is the latest generation of Agilent's market- leading benchtop GC/MS, the 5973 Inert MSD.
Laboratories around the world develop complicated techniques to meet individual research requirements. But laboratories working independently may develop the same detection method, overlapping each others' work and slowing the overall advancement of the research. By sharing detection methods, laboratories can use each others' techniques to speed individual research.
Normally, such collaboration requires labour-intensive manual creation of application methods, taking time away from ongoing research. But using the Agilent 5975, researchers can download new applications from Agilent's website and import them directly into the instrument, a concept called eMethods. With eMethods, analysts can also transfer their existing 5973 series MSD methods to the new 5975 inert MSD with a simple software upgrade.
"EMethods allows researchers to tap into Agilent's wealth of application knowledge in a new and efficient way, and it unlocks the power of their own customised applications," said James Yano, GC/MS marketing manager of Agilent's Chemical Analysis Solutions unit. "By providing a quicker, more productive and error-free process for importing and sharing applications, eMethods maximizes GC/MS productivity."
Other features of the 5975 Inert MSD include a redesigned hyperbolic mass analyser with a higher mass range capability, a new vacuum system that pumps hydrogen and helium carrier gas more efficiently and a new flow-control system that automatically adjusts reagent gas flow and allows automated tuning of the ion source. This makes chemical ionisation as routine as electron impact ionisation using the device, while improving overall sensitivity.
The system also has a new acquisition mode that allows users to obtain Synchronous SIM (selected ion monitoring) data and full-scan data with no loss in sensitivity. When combined with Agilent's Deconvolution Reporting Software and industry-specific compound databases, this new feature is useful for the rapid identification of unknown compounds, claims Agilent.
Agilent is running a seminar series in Europe between 6 and 21 June to introduce the 5975 in 14 cities.
