摘要 |
<p>A parallel mass spectrometer, which consists of two or more sets of ion extraction means, mass resolution devices and ion detectors connected in parallel, is interfaced with a separation device, such as a gas chromatograph, for sample analysis. The formed sample ions are simultaneously and separately directed into first and second mass resolution devices. The first mass resolution device is operated under either total ion current or select ions monitoring mode with its detection system constantly monitoring the appearance of the chromatographic peaks. The second mass resolution device is operated under a mass scanning mode, but a mass scan operation is initiated only when a chromatographic peak occurs. Alternatively, a mass scan operation can be arranged such that only the raw mass scan data obtained in synchronization with the appearance of the chromatographic peak are acquired or processed. This allows sample qualitative and quantitative analysis to be achieved simultaneously without compromise on the performance of either the chromatograph or mass spectrometer.</p> |