About the AutoSpec Premier™
Are you:
-
Analysing dioxins and compounds?
-
Required to satisfy regulatory requirements?
-
Looking for sensitivity, selectivity and dynamic range?
-
Seeking superb stability of response over an extended period of analysis?
-
In need of a robust instrument that ensures reduced downtime for routine maintenance?
XWAME Group Ltd are the world leaders in support and maintenance for the AutoSpec Premier™, a magnetic sector instrument originally manufactured by Waters ®. The instrument incorporates the Waters ® Micromass ® unique tri-sector (EBE), double focusing geometry with the wide gap magnet of the proven Ultima NT system, providing a unique combination of high sensitivity, high resolution and low background noise. The AutoSpec Premier ™ is the optimal choice for ultra low-level trace detection applications, such as monitoring for dioxins and related compounds like polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB’s) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE’s), or drugs and abused substances, by high resolution/selected ion recording (HR/SIR) gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).
AutoSpec Premier™ Technology
The AutoSpec Premier ™ has a dual GC interface to allow the use of two GC injectors with two GC columns installed for alternate or dual simultaneous injection. The pumping configuration and capacity allows change of the GC column without the venting of the instrument, reducing instrument downtime and increasing productivity. The dual GC interface of the AutoSpec Premier ™ enables direct line-of-sight GC column installation into source region, as well as providing an improved thermal variation profile.
Developed electronics have enhanced the precision with which the accelerating voltage can be set during voltage selected ion recording (VSIR). This ultimately improves mass precision, which can lead to superior data quality, especially in circumstances where a background peak is close to the analytical mass.
EBE Geometry
The AutoSpec Premier ™ incorporates unique tri-sector (EBE geometry) ion optics, designed to give maximum sensitivity in all modes at both high and low resolution.
The EBE design has one electric sector positioned before and one after the magnetic sector. The first electric sector has de-magnifying optics to give a high dispersion to magnification ratio, allowing high resolutions to be obtained with a wider source slit and higher sensitivity. The mass resolution is continuously variable to 80,000 (10% valley definition). The second electric sector reduces background noise, improves abundance sensitivity and automatically rejects metastable ion interferences.
Premier Magnet
The AutoSpec Premier ™ magnet is fully laminated utilising grain orientated rolled steel sheet with high permeability and low hysteresis. The extra-wide gap magnet design allows the use of a wider flight tube, giving higher transmission and reducing susceptibility to contamination. The post-acceleration photomultiplier detection system enables detection of positive or negative ions without switching dynode voltages. This detector has single ion detection capability; and the long-term stability of the photomultiplier gain ensures excellent and reproducible long-term performance.
Ion Optics and Pumping
The ion optics are supported by a pneumatic suspension bench to isolate the analyser from floor vibrations and maximise instrument performance.
The instrument is pumped with low maintenance, high capacity diffusion pumps (for optimal turbomolecular pumps), with the analyser double differentially pumped to ensure high abundance sensitivity. The vacuum system pumping, monitoring and protection is fully automatic.
Sensitivity
To achieve the highest sensitivity, HR/SIR acquisition is used. In this mode, at 10,000 resolution (10% valley definition), an injection of 100 fg of 2, 3, 7, 8-TCDD will give a signal-to-noise ratio at 321.8936 Da of > 125:1 on raw data (no smoothing applied). Noise, in this case, is taken to be equivalent to 4 standard deviations (+/- 2s). It is important to note that some other protocols for dioxin analysis quote signal-to-noise with the noise defined as 2 standard deviations (+/- 1s). For this definition of noise, the signal-to-noise value is > 250:1.
Stability
The AutoSpec Premier ™ gives superb stability of response over an extended period of analysis.
This reduces the frequency of tuning and calibration necessary and increases productivity by reducing instrument downtime for routine maintenance.
Mass Accuracy
Masses can be measured accurately to < 2 mDa or < 5 ppm RMS.
Dynamic Range
The AutoSpec Premier ™ offers > 5 orders of linear dynamic range enabling quantification over a wide concentration range and analysis of mixtures containing components at high and low concentrations in one analytical run.
AutoTune
The optimisation of instrument tuning is made rapid and easy with the AutoTune facility.
A sophisticated tuning algorithm combined with automated ion optics gives optimum tuning in a matter of minutes. The duration of the AutoTune routine is minimised by ‘fast’ slits, which have a response time of <0.2 seconds regardless of the positioned change; this allows for extremely rapid manipulation of the source and collector slits for optimum resolution and transmission.
Automated resolution verification
Regulatory requirements for some analyses require instrument resolution to be checked at regular intervals. Some US EPA Methods, for example, specify resolution checks every 12 hours during analysis. Masslynx software can automatically check instrument resolution after any sample in the Sample List, and will verify the resolution of all reference peaks in the mass window of the experiment. A hardcopy of these results can be provided, showing the peaks checked and the resolution measured for each. If the resolution of any of the reference peaks is outside user-specified tolerances, the sample list will be halted, preventing the loss of valuable samples.
Acquisition Modes
The following acquisition modes are supported:
-
Voltage Selected Ion Recording (VSIR)
-
Magnet Scanning
-
Voltage Scanning
Unmatched Performance
The AutoSpec Premier™ gives unmatched performance in a compact footprint – the ultimate in high resolution MS.
With the AutoSpec Premier™, you will benefit from:
-
Full control with Masslynx™ Software in a Microsoft Windows environment supported up to Windows 10
-
Targetlynx™ Application Manager included as standard
-
Unique tri-sector (EBE) ion optics
-
Extra wide gap magnet for higher transmission
-
Ultra-high resolution > 80,000
-
>105 linear dynamic range
-
Constant gain, long-life photomultiplier detection system
-
Dual GC Interface, column change without venting instrument
-
Low maintenance high capacity diffusion pumps as standard
-
Integrated GC (Agilent 6890 or 7890) and autosampler (Agilent 7683, CTC-GCPAL and CombiPal) control
-
AutoTune and automated resolution checking
Would you like more information about the AutoSpec Premier™?
Contact an XWAME Group Ltd representative for more information about the AutoSpec Premier™ and how it could provide the best solution for your analysis requirements.