Covalent Provides Ultra-High Resolution Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) with New Spectrometer from JEOL

Sunnyvale, CA, September 02, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Covalent Metrology, a North-American provider of premier analytical services, announced significant enhancements to its mass spectrometry services following the installation of the latest-generation AccuTOF GC-Alpha Gas-Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (GC-TOFMS) from JEOL, a leading manufacturer of analytical instruments based in Japan. The tool’s ultra-high mass resolution and exceptional sensitivity facilitate new materials analysis solutions for polymers, batteries, geochemistry, and more.

GCMS is widely used in industrial research to separate, identify, and quantify known and unknown constituents of mixtures. It comprises two subsystems: a chromatograph, which separates mixture components and ionizes signal fragments, followed by an analyzer, which sorts and identifies the fragments by mass. The time-of-flight analyzer in the AccuTOF delivers drastically improved performance over past GCMS systems. It is over 25X more sensitive (detection limit 18.7fg), with double the mass accuracy (error below 1ppm) and 6X the dynamic range. These features yield superior data quality and analytical power for clients.

The adaptability of the AccuTOF also enables advanced applications and accommodates nonstandard sample types. The TOFMS unit can be isolated for direct mass spectrometry measurements, combined with a pyrolyzer for polymer analysis, or serialized with the chromatography unit for 2D GCxGC experiments. It also accepts a variety of integrated, hard- and soft-ionization methods, as well as combinations thereof that produce automatic identifications of all unknown compounds in a sample.

This is made possible through JEOL’s accompanying software, msFineAnalysis, which accelerates time-to-data and enables more robust reporting. It automatically identifies molecular ions present without the need for any spectral library. Furthermore, it generates quantitative elemental compositions and even analyzes complex mixtures (copolymers blends/hydrocarbons) that fail to separate during ionization.

“With the addition of the JEOL AccuTOF GC-Alpha, Covalent significantly expands our chemical analysis capabilities. The combination of high mass resolution, sensitivity, measurement speed, and wide dynamic range enables Covalent to better support our clients to solve complex problems in the polymer and chemistry industries,” stated Nanette Jarenwattananon, PhD, Senior Manager of Chemical and Materials Analysis at Covalent Metrology.

This is the sixth JEOL instrument installed at the joint demonstration facility for JEOL at Covalent, preceded by: the JNM-ECZL 500 MHz NMR and the JEM-F200 S/TEM. It marks another step forward for a partnership geared towards making cutting-edge analysis more accessible.