MS technology has continued to advance at a rapid pace. While advanced lab-based MS applications receive the majority of attention, portable and in-field MS has grown as well. Technological improvements over the past decade have allowed the portable and in-field MS market to blossom, leading to strong demand from several industries. Rapid technological development has also led to a more competitive landscape than a few years ago.

Less than a decade ago, “portable” MS units were not man-portable, but instead were instruments that generally required a vehicle in order to be taken into the field. Thanks to the combination of an increase in post-9/11 demand for security instrumentation and general improvements in battery technology and miniaturization, a whole new generation of truly man-portable MS was introduced. These instruments are smaller and lighter, and can be carried into the field.

Nearly all of the recently introduced instruments are based on variants of ion trap mass analyzers, which are generally superior to quadrupole mass analyzers for sample identification. Another improvement in portable MS has been making it simpler Portable and in-field MS instruments are often operated by individuals with no scientific background.

The largest area of demand for portable and in-field MS has been military applications. Older generation portable MS could be mounted in vehicles, ships and facilities. Newer instruments are compact and lightweight, allowing individual platoons or squads to take them into battle when the possibility of chemical or biological weapon attacks exists. Portable MS has also become standard issue for first responders, including police and HazMat squads, allowing for quick and reliable identification of hazardous compounds. Portable MS systems are also experiencing an increase in demand from the environmental testing and general industrial markets because they can be taken to the sample source.

Inficon and Bruker have long been the leaders in the portable and in-field MS market. But several more recent entrants have quickly captured market shares, including ICx Technologies, which acquired Griffin Analytical (see IBO 12/31/06), and Torion Technologies. Many portable and in-field MS systems are sold as integrated GC/MS instruments. Inficon and Torion only offer portable GC/MS systems. The most recent entrant into the market is 1st Detect, which plans to launch a handheld MS weighing less than 15 lb (see IBO 3/15/10).

Sales of portable and in-field MS were not as heavily impacted as other analytical instrument markets by the recent worldwide recession due to the fact that much of the demand comes from the government and military. IBO estimates that the global market was well over $50 million in 2009, and should experience double-digit annual growth over the next few years.

Portable & In-Field MS at a Glance:

Leading Suppliers

• Bruker

• Inficon

• ICx Technologies

Largest Markets

• Military

• Security/First Response

• Environmental

Instrument Cost

• $30,000–$80,000