TOF GC/MS
The convergence of highly capable instruments and the need for their performance in many applications is helping the market for TOF GC/MS (GC-TOF) to finally begin taking off. Despite a strong array of products from smaller MS competitors, the technology has now been validated in the eyes of many end-users thanks to the entrance of the dominant company in GC/MS into the segment.
The majority of the installed base of GC/MS instruments, as well as the market demand, consist of single quadrupole systems, which are designed for quantitative applications. GC-TOF systems are able to scan at much higher speeds than quadrupole instruments and, therefore, can be used with fast GC and GCxGC methods. Also, recent improvements in TOF technology have helped to make mass resolution of 100,000 FWHM or higher possible. These performance characteristics are advantageous for complex samples, and can also greatly reduce the analysis time for many standard methods currently run using quadrupole GC/MS. One example is in the oil and gas industry, where new laws require testing for lower levels of toxic compounds and where the use of heavier crude oil, which contains more contaminants, is increasing. Many environmental and food analyses also involve complex samples, for which the resolution of GC-TOF is useful.
The competitive landscape of the GC-TOF market has changed markedly over the last several years. Thermo Fisher Scientific, which currently rivals Shimadzu as the second-largest competitor in the GC/MS market, offered a GC-TOF model in the early 2000s, which has long since been discontinued. Waters discontinued its GC-TOF product line in 2012.
Over much of the past decade, smaller and less prominent MS vendors have accounted for most of the GC-TOF market. LECO, the market leader for most of the last decade, is a mid-size firm that specializes in organic and inorganic analytical instrumentation for non–life science industries. JEOL, a large diversified analytical instrument firm based in Japan with a strong focus on surface science technologies, has also long been a major competitor in the market. Other vendors include Italian GC vendor DANI; UK-based Scientific Analysis Instruments, which specializes in advanced TOF MS technologies; and ALMSCO, part of Markes International. The most recent market entrant is Agilent, which introduced a Q-TOF GC/MS that was designed specifically as a GC/MS instrument in late 2011.
Growth in demand for GC-TOF has been strong in the last several years, although in 2012 growth slowed to mid-single digits due in part to the discontinuation of Waters’s product line. The worldwide market for GC-TOF broke $40 million for the first time this past year. Recently developed GC-TOFs include a number of high performance systems available for relatively modest price points, which should help growth return to double digits in 2013 and beyond.
TOF CG/MS at a Glance:
Leading Suppliers
• LECO
• Agilent Technologies
• JEOL
Largest Markets
• Oil and Gas
• Environmental
• Agriculture/Food
Instrument Cost
• $90,000–$350,000