Development of an Interface for the Analysis of Volatiles Using a Portable Mass Spectrometer

P. P. Hurtado1, E., Palmer1, C. Aldcroft2, H. Moore2, A. Baker2. M. Allen2, J. Jones2, M.A. Turner1, J.C. Reynolds1

1Centre for Analytical Science, Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, Leicester, LE11 3TU, UK 2Advion UK Ltd

The development of new interfaces that enable direct analysis of VOCs represents an attractive and low cost alternative for rapid analysis. For example, the food industry is particularly interested in this type of analysis, where the freshness of different foods can be rapidly measured by the release of its volatiles. Numerous techniques have been used for this purpose. However, mass spectrometry remains the gold standard technique enabling chemical specificity of detection.