Cerno Bioscience has announced that spectral accuracy is a proven companion concept for mass spectrometry (MS).
Spectral accuracy, a companion concept to the better-known mass accuracy, which enables new capabilities for MS that were previously thought unfeasible, includes elemental composition determination (formula ID) with even a single quadrupole GC/MS or LC/MS and the elimination of up to 99 per cent of incorrect formulas on high-resolution MS systems through mass accuracy alone.
The concept of spectral accuracy for MS has more crucial relevance to the ions being measured and the MS instrumentation used.
By utilising a novel calibration scheme to correct not only m/z but, more importantly, peak shape, up to 100 times better mass accuracy and unparalleled spectral accuracy could be achieved on an otherwise conventional unit mass resolution quadrupole system for elemental composition determination - a capability typically reserved for higher-resolution MS systems.
This is accomplished through a process called CLIPS in the commercially available Massworks software.
Equally importantly, the unique peak shape calibration (sCLIPS) of high-resolution MS data obtained with TOF, qTOF, Orbitrap or other FTMS systems can achieve high spectral accuracy to eliminate the majority of incorrect formula candidates from consideration.
A new paper entitled 'The concept of spectral accuracy for MS' that discusses and demonstrates this concept in more detail has been published in Analytical Chemistry and is the 1 September issue front cover feature.
