Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the
world leader in serving science, today announced that it has completed
a custom installation of its TSQ Quantum™ triple quadrupole
mass spectrometer in a mobile laboratory operating on a bus. The TSQ
Quantum is the only triple quadrupole system that enables Highly
Selective Reaction Monitoring (H-SRM) performance, which facilitates
the quick and efficient analysis of complex samples. The Ministry of
Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks in Quebec, Canada uses
the system to perform real-time, mobile analysis of organic and
inorganic environmental contaminants in the air, ground and water.
Mass spectrometer installed on a bus
Ministry personnel collaborated with Thermo Fisher and its
strategic partner Phytronix Technologies, a Canada-based company, to
upgrade an obsolete mobile laboratory system. The TSQ Quantum was
chosen because it met the Ministry’s stringent requirements
for limits of detection in the order of microgram per cubic meter, even
in real time. Phytronix engineered a stabilization table to dampen
motion so the TSQ Quantum can analyze samples while the bus is on the
road. A dampening table was necessary because the mass spectrometer
requires a stable environment during analysis.
The Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum with ESI source was designed
to analyze gaseous samples using the APCI mode. Using
Phytronix’s Laser Diode Thermal Desorption technology (LDTD)
it will also be possible to analyze any sample from any state (gaseous,
liquid or solid). With LDTD the samples are desorbed indirectly by
infrared laser diode, and gas phase molecules are introduced into the
APCI region where ions are transferred into the TSQ Quantum for
analysis.
A Ministry laboratory has used the mobile TSQ Quantum to
identify and quantify thousands of gas contaminants in the air
(including aldehydes, alcohols, acids and chlorine), as well as to map
the distribution of the contamination. The map identifies the source of
the contamination (e.g., the chimney or waste site) and the area over
which it spreads. By combining these results with details of the wind,
such as direction and force, the laboratory could provide a legal proof
of source in order to enforce environmental regulations. Ministry
personnel selected the Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum because the
instrument had the functionality and flexibility required for
collecting this critical environmental data.