A New Method and Device for Chemical Quantification Using Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry Without the Use of Standard Target Compounds

Abstract

A method of quantifying a target compound includes applying an oxidation/reduction potential to an electrochemical cell (14); measuring an electrochemical current during the application of the oxidation/reduction potential; and ionizing and directing the target compound before and after the application of the oxidation/reduction potential to a mass spectrometer (16) that measures a target compound ion intensity. The method further includes determining a target compound ion intensity change due to the application of the oxidation/reduction potential and determining a total amount of the target compound in the sample using the measured electrochemical current and the target compound ion intensity change. Determining the target compound ion intensity change may comprise either comparing the target compound ion intensity before and after the electrolysis relative to a reference peak or comparing the integrated peak area of a target compound ion in an extracted ion chromatogram before and after the electrolysis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.