Complementary Analytical Technologies

Mass Spectrometry and FTIR are robust, established technologies for chemical analysis of a broad range of substances—at trace and bulk levels.

Mass Spectrometry, or Mass Spec, is the gold-standard analytical technology for laboratory-based molecular analysis and can identify and quantify sample components via molecular weight measurements. While Mass Spec is an extremely powerful analytical tool, conventional Mass Spec instruments are very large, expensive, and highly complex.

Our proprietary High-Pressure Mass Spec, or HPMS, technology relies on extreme miniaturization of the core of Mass Spec — the ion trap and its vacuum system. Using semiconductor microfabrication techniques, we design and produce components that are more than a thousand-fold smaller in volume when compared with most laboratory Mass Spec instruments and costs only dollars to manufacture. The vacuum system alone in a typical laboratory instrument weighs hundreds of pounds and requires several hundred watts of power, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Our miniaturized vacuum system weighs less than a pound, and our Mass Spec in total requires less power than a 20-watt LED light bulb.

These landmark proprietary advances have enabled us to produce significantly smaller, purpose-built Mass Spec devices that are better suited for use in point-of-need settings, in contrast to conventional mainframe Mass Spec solutions.

FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared), an optical spectroscopy technology, measures the chemical composition of a sample. The spectral data is acquired using an interferometer detecting all wavelengths simultaneously, which results in fast acquisition times and very high signal-to-noise ratios. This technology can measure unknown powders and liquids using an attenuated total reflectance interface, and gases using absorption across a gas cell.

FTIR is an established analytical technology that identifies and characterizes a broad range of sample types, including liquids, solids and gases. FTIR complements Mass Spec as FTIR is highly regarded for its chemical identification of bulk materials while Mass Spec provides unparalleled detection and identification of trace chemical substances.