PTR-MS
Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry
IONICON ANALYTIK is the world’s leader in ultra-sensitive real-time trace gas (VOC) analyzers based on the unique Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) and proprietary SRI-MS technology.
IONICON PTR-TOF MS are used for real-time air quality monitoring, environmental research, food and flavour science, security and safety, indoor air quality, breath analysis, biological research, air contamination in semiconductor manufacturing environment, detection of illicit substances and many more applications.
Key Applications
Air Monitoring Solutions
Fully automated air monitors – Automated direct trace gas analysis solutions based on real-time analyzers equipped with integrated calibration and multiplexing systems for covering various sampling points in factories or semiconductor fabs.
Environmental Research
- PTR-TOF is the solution for monitoring trace VOCs in the atmosphere and indoor environment.
- Real-Time measurements of VOCs causing smells or adverse health effects.
- Monitoring of chemical contamination related to the Sick Building Syndrome. Sensory impact on passengers in aircraft cabins, cars (VIAQ) and workers in offices or family homes.
Food & Flavor Science
Real-time aroma compound analysis with PTR-MS
The results provided by IONICON PTR-MS instruments enhance research, flavor & fragrance development, quality control and enable online process monitoring in food & flavor industries.
Discover the unmatched advantages of PTR-MS in one of the fields it has originally been developed for – food & flavor science:
- Rapid investigation of complex aroma systems
- Real-time mouth- and nosespace analysis during food consumption
- Extremely high sample throughput via autosampler
- Online monitoring of food processing techniques
- Non-invasive headspace injection without the need of sample preparation
- Chemical fingerprinting
Semiconductor AMC
With the advancement in the production processes for microelectronics, Airborne Molecular Contamination (AMC) have started to become of significant concern for semiconductor manufacturers. Monitoring of AMC concentration in fabs and in micro environments (e.g. FOUPs) has been adopted by the semiconductor industry.
A benchmark solution is IONICON’s AMC-Monitor offering sensitive, real-time analysis of AMCs. The ability to monitor in seconds allows it to capture transient events, to correlate emissions to activities in the fab, or to get a comprehensive overview by multiplexing between different sampling points covering an entire fab. Applications includes monitoring of cleanrooms, FOUPs, up- and downstream filter testing, fenceline monitoring for intake air quality and many more.
Security and Safety
Real-time detection of threat agents with IONICON PTR-MS
PTR-MS combines all features that are needed for analyzing dangerous substances like explosives, chemical warfare agents (CWA), toxic industrial chemicals (TIC) and drugs.
Detectable Substance Classes
- CWAs: sulfur mustard, nitrogen mustard, sarin, cyclosarin, soman, tabun, VX, etc.
- TICs: phosgene, chloropicrin, acrolein, chloroacetophenone, chloroacetone, PCBs, isocyanates, etc.
- Explosives: TNT, TNB, RDX, PETN, TATP, EGDN, NG, DMNB, picric acid, etc.
- Illicit and prescription drugs: heroin, cocaine, MDMA, propofol, morphine, codeine, date rape drugs, etc.
- New psychoactive substances: ethylphenidate, 4-MEC, NEB, MPA, 4-FA, 5-APB, 6-APB, 5-MeO-DALT, dimethocaine, nitracaine, AMT, etc.
On-line Monitoring of Bioprocesses
IONICON PTR-MS systems can analyze trace gas concentrations of volatile metabolites in the off-gas of bio-pharmaceutical fermentations in real-time. This highly relevant process related information can be used for on-line process monitoring and process control.
In a bioreactor, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as metabolic by-products of microbial growth and production. Real-time monitoring of these emitted volatile metabolites in the off-gas of a bioreactor with PTR-MS allows gauging the activity of the micro-organisms for quality assurance and process control. In E. coli fermentations we observe up to 70 VOCs with notable concentrations and distinct variations over time – prominent examples are shown in the figure.
Real-time Breath Analysis
PTR-MS in Medical Applications
PTR-TOF are powerful tools for non-invasive breath gas analysis. The vast amount of information that is recorded in complete spectra with sub-second time resolution, their high sensitivity and high mass-resolving power makes them the de-facto standard for real-time breath analysis.
Potential applications of real-time breath analysis:
Screening for Biomarkers
- Breath-Markers for smoking
- Disease, e.g. COVID-19, Lung cancer etc.
- Kidney function
- E-cigarette studies
- Screening for drugs in breath
Monitoring – A non-invasive window into the body
- Pharmacokinetics
- Monitoring metabolic processes
- Live Function Test
- Exercise stress tests
Related applications
- E-cigarette puff-by-puff analysis
- Real-time breath analysis of flavor release
- Nose space analysis
PTR-MS for Petrochemical Applications
PTR-MS trace gas analyzers can detect a variety of organic, metallo-organic and inorganic volatile compounds in real-time and in very low concentrations. Examples are HCN, H2S, RSH, Carbonyls, Acids, Amines and others in a variety of gas matrices, such as syngas, flue gas or air.
IONICON analyzers have been employed for an increasing number of applications in the petrochemical industry, in e.g. Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) or amine treatment processes.
Real-time monitoring of volatiles in a gas-to-liquid (GTL) process provides insight into the process in real-time without complex sampling and analysis steps. Changes in the volatile concentration can directly be attributed to alterations in the process parameters. The use of PTR-MS for real-time monitoring of trace contaminations in syngas enables better process understanding and advanced process optimization.
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