The ion volume is the most critical component in minimizing GC/MS downtime. As contaminants accumulate on the surface of the ion volume, the efficiency of ionization is adversely affected. This can only be remedied by cleaning. Because the GC/MS operates under vacuum, the instrument typically has to be vented to perform this cleaning.

On Thermo Scientific GC/MS systems equipped with the vacuum probe interlock option, an ion removal tool can be used to extract the ion volume and restore system performance  without venting the mass spec. This can save hours in instrument downtime and effectively improves your lab's productivity.

The vacuum interlock is a valve that is installed on the front side of the manifold. It contains a rotary valve that is opened by sliding a handle upward. The software control in the Tune Window steps the user through the evacuation of the valve for removal of the ion volume.

By incorporating a vacuum interlock for quick ion volume removal for cleaning, the calibration check standard can be maintained within the criterion of ± 20% after injection of a tissue and soil extract.

A GC/MS instrument may retain its accuracy and performance when analyzing contaminated samples by simply cleaning the ion volume. Instead of losing several hours venting and cleaning the system, only the time for re-injection of the check standard is lost, thus saving your lab valuable time and money.

• Perform routine source maintenance in minutes without venting the analyzer
• Switch ionization modes - from EI to CI and back again - in minutes with chemical ionization option
• Analyze solids and liquids without chromatographic separation using direct sample probe option