Untargeted Screening and Identification of Contaminants Using Gas Chromatography Coupled to High-Resolution Accurate Mass–Mass Spectrometry: Novel Solutions for Applied Testing Laboratories

Abstract

The combination of gas chromatography (GC) instruments with quadrupole-based mass spectrometers is a common analytical setup for the detection of a broad range of volatile and semivolatile contaminants. GC–mass spectrometry (MS) (nominal mass) instruments are well known for their robustness and ease of use. However, they have some important limitations. Single quadrupole instruments can perform full scan analysis, but their sensitivity and selectivity in this mode are limited. Triple quadrupole (GC–MS/MS) systems are limited to a targeted acquisition within a specified compound list. High-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) mass spectrometry can overcome these limitations.