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Frequently Asked Questions

Syagen’s Mass Spectrometry (MS) Technology

  • How does mass spectrometry work?
    Mass spectrometry (MS) is a method of isolating molecules and measuring their molecular weights. They do this by introducing a sample, such as air, into a chamber that puts a charge on the molecular (called ionization). Once a molecule has a charge, it responds to electric and magnetic fields, and this response depends on the molecular weight. Special types of MS instruments can also break apart the molecular ions and obtain information about the molecules structure. This is very important for confirming a molecule’s identity.
  • What is special about Syagen’s MS?
    First, it uses a combination (hybrid) of two powerful MS technologies; quadrupole ion trap and time-of-flight, in what we call QitTof™. The ion trap allows us to store ions and to selectively break them apart in order to do compound identification and structure and sequence analysis. The time-of-flight allows us to rapidly measure the ion masses with very high mass accuracy. Second, we have succeeded in developing this advanced MS technology into routine, low-cost, reliable, and easy-to-operate systems. Furthermore we have a purpose-driven philosophy that has allowed us to develop QitTof MS systems for applications ranging from exceptional high performance benchtop operation for life sciences to ruggedized, high-speed, portable systems for homeland security and first response.

PhotoMate® APPI®

  • What is APPI?
    APPI is an ionization method used in mass spectrometry wherein a vapor sample is mixed with a carrier gas at atmospheric pressure. A seed vapor is added as a proton source. Then ionization is achieved by excitation of molecules by high energy photons (typically around 10 eV). Benefits include relatively universal detection, low energy ionization, and minimal fragmentation, and minimal ion suppression.
  • What type of lamp is used in a photoionization source?
    Syagen uses a 10.6eV Kr lamp in its Photomate APPI sources
  • Which brands of LC/MS can I purchase an APPI source for?
    Agilent, Bruker Daltonics, ThermoFisher Scientific, Waters/Micromass, and Shimadzu
  • I have an older model Waters/Micromass instrument, can I still purchase an APPI for my system?
    Yes, contact Syagen directly for information on purchasing a Photomate APPI for your Waters/Micromass LC/MS instrument with the “Fishbowl” Z-Spray design
  • Can I purchase an APPI source directly from Syagen?
    Users of ThermoFisher Scientific LCQ and Quantum with the APCI housing already installed can purchase the APPI upgrade directly from Syagen. In addition, users of Waters/Micromass LC/MS with the “Fishbowl” Z-Spray design can also buy direct from Syagen. Users of other LC/MS systems must contact their respective local sales agents
  • Do I need any special software to use APPI on my LC/MS instrument?
    No, APPI is compatible with Mass Lynx software used in most LC/MS instruments
  • Can I purchase replacement APPI lamps from Syagen?
    Yes. Please contact the Syagen Sales department for details on availability and pricing.
  • I already have an APCI(or ESI) source, do I need an APPI source?
    APPI is an important complement to ESI and APCI by expanding the range and classes of compounds that can be analyzed, including nonpolar molecules that are not easily ionized by ESI or APCI.
  • Can I lease or rent an APPI source?
    Syagen Photomate sources are only available for purchase
  • Can I use dopants with APPI?
    Yes, the use of dopants has shown tremendous potential for even better ionization of certain compounds using APPI

Guardian® Explosive Trace Portal

  • Does the Guardian ETP use a radioactive source for ionization?
    No, because Syagen uses a proprietary ionization method. The Guardian does not need to use a radioactive source.
  • What kind of consumables are needed with a Mass Spectrometry Portal like the Guardian?
    There are no daily or weekly consumables needed.
  • How many explosives can the Guardian detect and identify? And from what classes?
    16 different explosive compounds represented in the military, commercial and improvised categories. For a complete list, please request a brochure using our inquiry form.

Homeland Security

  • Why is mass spectrometry important for Homeland Security?
    The threat of terrorist attacks is real and the U.S. government has allocated an enormous budget to combat the problem. It only makes sense that the best chemical analysis technology should deployed. In just about every other market that requires accurate chemical analysis, whether it is pharmaceuticals, environmental, food and beverages, process monitoring, etc., mass spectrometry (MS) is almost exclusively relied on and is considered to be the gold standard. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relied on the inferior technology of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) for many years and is still the technology that is most prominent in our nations airports and other security venues, but DHS is aware of MS and is working to deploy it in the future.
  • What makes MS so much better than IMS?
    Quite simply MS conducts exact molecular analysis whereas IMS infers the molecular analysis. Furthermore, MS has extremely high resolving power and stability whereas IMS has very low resolving power and suffers from calibration drift problems. The net effect is that MS enables higher detection probabilities and lower false positive rates than IMS and can achieve this higher accuracy while detecting up to 10x as many explosives compounds.

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