The market for high-end GC/MS technologies has been experiencing rapid growth over the past several years, led by robust demand from environmental and food-testing applications. Users are migrating from single-quadrupole MS to triple-quadrupole MS technology for quantitative analysis of known compounds.

While Q-TOFs MS systems are more widely recognized for their use with LC, their use with GC is functionally similar. The quadrupole-focusing section serves to guide the ions into the TOF tube. In addition, the quadrupole section can select the ion species of interest to pass through and compensate for the remaining lateral velocity components. As a result, Q-TOF MS systems can provide high sensitivity and increased mass accuracy.

GC/MS Q-TOF can be used as a screening tool to identify unknown species in complex samples. For example, in environmental applications, it can identify pesticide residues or biomarkers in crude oil to identify sources of oil spills. The system can also be used in food testing, such as for analysis of olive oil and its qualification as extra virgin.

There are only a few vendors in the GC/MS Q-TOF market. Agilent Technologies recently launched the 7200B GC/Q-TOF, its second-generation system. The Agilent 7200B GC/Q-TOF employs dual gain amplifiers with dual analog-to-digital (ADC) detection that delivers highly accurate mass over a wide mass range and dynamic range of concentrations. Its 4 GHz ADC electronics provide improved resolution, mass accuracy and sensitivity for low-abundance samples. The 7200B GC/Q-TOF also utilizes a hexapole collision cell, designed for maximum ion transmission. Agilent also offers a pesticide database library based on GC/Q-TOF profiles to enable screening applications against more than 740 targeted compounds.

PerkinElmer also participates in the market with its AxION iQT GC/MS/MS system, which it introduced last year. This system combines the compound-identification capabilities of Q-TOF with the quantitation performance of a triple quadrupole MS. The AxION iQT MS system is compatible with a wide range of GCs, and the ion sources can be interchanged with dual-filament EI, CI or cold EI.

Earlier this year, Bruker introduced the GC-APCI II source that allows connectivity of GCs with ultrahigh resolution MS systems, including Q-TOFs. The source can be combined with any of Bruker’s ESI MS systems, including its LC-QTOF. The GC-APCI II source can be mounted and dismounted within minutes and without the need for special tools. Built-in alignment allows the use of a flexible transfer tube and convenient placement of the GC system.

The market for GC-QTOFs is still a relatively small part of the GC/MS market, representing less than $10 million in revenues. However, the market has a projected growth trajectory of more than 14% annually.

GC/MS Q-TOF at a Glance:

Leading Suppliers

• Agilent Technologies

• PerkinElmer

• Bruker

Largest Markets

• Environmental

• Food

• Petrochemicals

Instrument Cost

• $300,000–$350,000