Next Generation GC-MS

Význam tématu

Disruptive GC-Orbitrap technology enables full-scan high-resolution accurate-mass analysis with sensitivity, resolution and mass accuracy unprecedented in gas chromatography mass spectrometry, transforming workflows across food safety, environmental, industrial, forensic and anti-doping laboratories.

Cíle a přehled studie / článku

Review of expert perspectives and application notes on the Thermo Scientific Q Exactive GC Orbitrap GC-MS/MS and Exactive GC Orbitrap GC-MS systems, covering fields including food safety, metabolomics, pesticide screening, authentication and high-throughput profiling.

Použitá metodika a instrumentace

• Thermo Scientific Q Exactive GC Orbitrap GC-MS/MS and Exactive GC Orbitrap GC-MS instruments coupling electron ionization GC to Orbitrap analyzers.
• Full-scan acquisition up to 120,000 FWHM at m/z 200 with sub-ppm mass accuracy and fast scan speeds matching GC peak widths.
• Sample preparation examples: QuEChERS extraction for pesticides, derivatization for metabolomics, ethyl acetate extraction for whisky profiling, PTV injection for large volume samples.
• Data processing with Thermo Scientific TraceFinder for targeted screening and quantitation, and SIEVE for untargeted peak alignment, deconvolution and chemometric analysis.

Hlavní výsledky a diskuse

• Consistent sub-1-ppm mass accuracy throughout chromatographic peaks enabled confident extracted ion chromatograms with ±5 ppm windows in complex matrices.
• Full-scan sensitivity matched or exceeded triple quadrupole MS for pesticide residues and trace metabolites while providing broad scope for untargeted and retrospective analysis.
• Linearity over six to seven orders of magnitude and low limits of quantitation demonstrated for 1400 GC-amenable pesticides in fruits and vegetables, meeting SANTE/11945/2015 criteria.
• Metabolomics applications yielded hundreds of detected compounds per sample with high throughput, showing strong correlation between proteome and metabolome profiles.
• Whisky authentication models using Orbitrap GC-MS fingerprints achieved discrimination by age, origin and brand, demonstrating non-targeted high-resolution profiling.

Přínosy a praktické využití metody

• Single full-scan pesticide screening method reduces method development, supports simultaneous monitoring of thousands of analytes, and provides retrospective discovery of emerging contaminants.
• Enhanced untargeted metabolomics workflows using accurate mass filtering and high resolution separation for improved compound coverage and structural elucidation.
• Routine high-resolution GC-MS/MS workflows for forensics, anti-doping and environmental analysis, enabling trace detection and confirmation of unknowns.
• Food authentication and product integrity assessments using high-resolution accurate-mass fingerprints and chemometrics.

Budoucí trendy a možnosti využití

• Ongoing orbitrap simplification and miniaturization towards cost-effective routine platforms with fewer pumps and streamlined electronics.
• Expansion of high-resolution GC-MS into broader fields including natural toxins, mycotoxins, environmental monitoring, and combined multispecies screening.
• Integration of advanced informatics, probabilistic annotation, machine learning and web-based platforms for automated compound identification and quantitative profiling.
• Potential displacement of triple quadrupole instruments for both targeted and non-targeted GC workflows, with hybrid GC×GC-Orbitrap and single GC-Orbitrap methods on the horizon.

Závěr

GC-Orbitrap platforms provide a game-changing combination of sensitivity, speed, resolution and mass accuracy in a single system. They simplify method development, enable comprehensive full-scan workflows and open new possibilities in food safety, metabolomics, environmental analysis and product authentication.

Reference

• The Analytical Scientist and Thermo Fisher Scientific compendium articles, 2016
• SANTE/11945/2015 Guidance Document on Analytical Quality Control and Validation Procedures
• Alexander Makarov et al., ASMS 2015 orbitrap GC-MS launch overview
• Coon and Kwiecien et al., University of Wisconsin-Madison metabolomics GC-Orbitrap studies
• Burgess et al., Glasgow Polyomics untargeted metabolomics with Orbitrap GC-MS
• Mol et al., RIKILT-Wageningen UR pesticide screening application note
• Hajšlová et al., Whisky authentication using GC-Orbitrap