Focusing agents and calibration transportability
AssigneeGovernment of the United States as Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorsH. Mitchell Rubenstein, Anthony Qualley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermal desorption tube for chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis. The thermal desorption tube includes a sorbent and a plurality of focusing agents loaded at known, relative amounts onto the sorbent. Each focusing agent is a compound that chromatographically elutes within a retention time similar to a retention time of a target analyte and has a mass spectrum similar to a mass spectrum of the target analyte. The thermal desorption tube is configured to be further loaded with a sample having the target analyte.
Claims20
A thermal desorption tube for chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis, the thermal desorption tube comprising:
- a sorbent;
- and
- a plurality of focusing agents loaded at known, relative amounts onto the sorbent, focusing agents of the plurality comprising a compound that chromatographically elutes within a retention time similar to a retention time of a target analyte and has a mass spectrum similar to a mass spectrum of the target analyte,
- wherein the thermal desorption tube is configured to be further loaded with a sample having the target analyte.
A method of analyzing a sample for a target analyte using chromatography and mass spectroscopy, the method comprising:
- loading the sample having the target analyte onto a thermal desorption tube, the thermal desorption tube having a sorbent therein and a plurality of focusing agents loaded at known, relative amounts onto the sorbent, focusing agents of the plurality comprising a compound that chromatographically elutes within a retention time similar to a retention time of a target analyte and has a mass spectrum similar to a mass spectrum of the target analyte;
- desorbing the target analyte and the plurality of focusing agents from the sorbent and into the chromatography and mass spectrometry instrument;
- and
- evaluating a response due to the target analyte relative to responses of the plurality of focusing agents.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.